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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Use of comparatives and superlative.
Use of comparatives and superlative.
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goodnesses
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I prefer this one: my wish to give up was smaller than my irritation.
It means that your irritation was so big, was it?
Sorry my last post ws for kidding guess I should have ended with that magic "LOL"
PS: I have some connection problem I don �t know why it is hunging once in a while ???
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24 Mar 2009
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kaz76
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We can �t say that "canada is larger than Brazil" then immediately that "Brazil is smaller than Canada."
Why can �t we say this? They mean exactly the same thing - if Canada is larger than Brazil then of course Brazil is smaller. It doesn �t mean that Brazil is a small country, just that it is smaller than Canada. You are comparing them to each other, not in relation to every other country in the world.
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24 Mar 2009
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wolfy
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Brazil is smaller than Canada but� Canada is less populated than Brazil�
Using "smaller" does not imply that both are small - it simply implies that comparatively one is smaller than the other.
Using "not as big as" does imply both are big. �"not as --- as" also has a negative vibe to it. �It �s difficult to explain but it would be like saying something negative about Brazil which you don �t get with "smaller".
But in the example the emphasis is on the comparision and the subsequent suprise that population figures don �t match the expected. �I.e. �the bigger the country the bigger the population. �That �s why smaller is used instead of "not as big as".
The original example sounds much better than: Brazil is not as big as canada but Canada is less populated than Brazil.
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24 Mar 2009
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goodnesses
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------------sorry-------------------
"Brazil is not as big as canada but Canada is less populated than Brazil."
Stated this way I can �t but say it is OK!
Try to consider this:
I prefer this one: Silke,"my wish to give up was smaller than my irritation."
I, "It means that your irritation was so big, was it?"
re-edited
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24 Mar 2009
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goodnesses
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Sorry again Silke
This what I meant:
goodnesses
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I prefer this one: my wish to give up was smaller than my irritation.
It means that your irritation was not so big, was it?
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24 Mar 2009
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goodnesses
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I completely disagree with you on this one.
---It �s OK when you say,
It is much better than mine.
So mine was not as good as hers!
---It is not Ok when you say
It is much better than mine.
In fact, it was worse than hers, wasn �t it?
This implies your explanation was bad and actually it wasn"t! or that hers was bad and that what you didn �t mean "better" comparative of "good".
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24 Mar 2009
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