Good Double Comparatives
Double comparatives are phrases commonly used in English to express increasing or decreasing returns.
Double comparatives are often employed to underline the importance of doing or not doing a certain activity.
Here are some examples:
The more you practice, the better your performance.
The more time you spend talking to an audience, the better you get at public speaking.
The less money I spend, the less I have to worry about debt.
The less you water the garden, the less chance the plants will grow.
As you can see from these examples, the format of double comparatives is as follows:
The (more / less) + (noun / noun phrase) subject + verb +, + the (more / less) + (noun) subject + verb
Notice that with ‘more’ and ‘less’ you are comparing actions.
You can compare adjectives in the same way:
The darker the berry is, the juiciest it is to eat.
The faster the trains are, the more dangerous they are to ride.
The funnier the comic is, the more fun he is to watch.
The + comparative adjective + to be, + the + comparative adjective + subject + verb + (infinitive of purpose)
These forms can be mixed up as well.
It is equally possible to reverse comparative adjectives and end with more / less plus a subject and verb or noun, subject and verb.
The prettier the girl is, the more attention she enjoys.
The happier the mom is, the more the dad can relax.
The more thrilling the new movie is, the less the director worries about making a box office hit.
In spoken English, we also use double comparatives called clichés.
The more the merrier
which means…
The more people there are, the merrier everyone will be.
We can turn the double comparatives into commands:
Study more, learn more.
Eat less, move more
Play less, study more.
Work more, earn more.
Think harder, get smarter.
Bad Double Comparatives
Here are some examples of the incorrect use of two comparative forms together.
This ice cream is more tastier than that sorbet.
He is more funnier than Jack is.
Susan is more taller than Jane.
In this case, ‘more’ is not required as the comparative adjective form. The sentence is modified by the addition of ‘-ier’.
Double Comparatives to Show Change
And finally, double comparatives are also used to show a continual increase or decrease.
There are more and more women attending college these days.
It seems like there are fewer and fewer items being made in America.
Ultimately, people will find more and more time to spend with their families.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about double comparatives. Let me know of any examples you can think of.
Related articles
- Comparative Forms (slideshare.net)
- Comparatives and Superlatives (computersight.com)
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