ব্লগ / "More Better" and "Most Biggest": 17 Real Comparison Mistakes
"More Better" and "Most Biggest": 17 Real Comparison Mistakes
English forms comparatives in one of two ways: add -er (taller, faster) or put more in front (more interesting). Superlatives work the same way: -est or most. The rule is to use one method, never both. The examples below are real sentences that people sent to Proofread Bot.
The corrections below are written in formal, academic English.
1. Double comparatives and superlatives
✓ The yellow cake is tastier than the blue one.
✓ I can see the text more clearly now.
✓ That is the slowest car.
✓ That is the biggest apple ever grown on this farm.
✓ He is the best teacher at my school.
✓ The brightest student is John.
✓ I find that story less noteworthy than the other one.
Note the second example: after a verb like "see," the adverb clearly is needed, and its comparative is "more clearly."
2. Irregular comparatives
✓ The cat is better than the dog.
✓ This tool is the worst ever.
✓ It is getting worse.
- good, better, best
- bad, worse, worst
- far, further/farther, furthest/farthest
- little, less, least
- many/much, more, most
3. Comparative or superlative?
Use the comparative for two things and the superlative for three or more.
✓ I ran harder today than I did yesterday.
4. "As… as" comparisons need both halves
✓ This cereal is as good as any other cereal.
✓ This check is as good as it gets.
✓ The cryptocurrency becomes as stable as the US dollar.
5. Illogical comparisons
A comparison must compare like with like. These errors are common in academic and business writing, where sentences are long.
✓ Whirlpool's earnings for March were greater than those of General Electric.
✓ The cheetah is faster than any other animal in the world.
In the first example, earnings are being compared with a company. In the second, the cheetah is itself an animal, so it cannot be faster than any animal, only than any other animal.
6. Incomplete comparisons
✓ Learning Chinese is more difficult than learning Spanish.
In academic writing, every comparison should say what it is compared with. See also then vs. than.
Proofread Bot flags double comparatives, irregular forms, and incomplete or illogical comparisons.
Proofread Bot