It is better to travel ten thousand miles
than to read ten thousand books
– A Chinese Proverb.
A good name is better than riches.
– An English Proverb.
We have discussed the formation of comparative and superlative forms of adjectives by the addition of ‘er’ and ‘est’ respectively to the base or positive or unaltered adjective. For example, new (base adjective), newer (comparative), newest (superlative), pretty (base adjective), prettier(comparative), prettiest (superlative), bright (base adjective), brighter (comparative), brightest (superlative).
We have also discussed the formation of irregular adjective forms, for example good (base, positive or unaltered adjective), better (comparative), best (superlative); bad (base or positive adjective), worse (comparative), worst (superlative); some (base or positive), more (comparative), most (superlative).
Logically, some adjectives cannot be expressed in degree; they are regarded as absolutes, and do not readily lend themselves to qualification with such words as ‘quite’, ‘too’, ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘very’. Think of such words as ‘unique’, ‘pregnant’, ‘perfect’, ‘infinite’, ‘correct’, ‘daily’, ‘monthly’, ‘excellent’, ‘virgin’, ‘highest’, ‘square’, ‘round’, ‘wooden’, ‘golden’, ‘matchless’, ‘full’, ‘empty’, ‘true’, ‘last’, ‘circular’, ‘basic’. How can one barrel be emptier than another? How can one woman be more pregnant than another? How can one story be more true than another?
There is no reason why absolutes should be qualified, for example quite excellent, very full, very unique, greatest maximum. But by usage, the following expressions and a few others are admissible in informal English: The gift is from the very bottom of my heart; The story was very true; We need a fuller description of the man.
The comparative forms of adjectives are used to express superiority or inferiority. For example: My father is taller than my mother. An orange is less sugary than a tangerine. He is taller than she. Note than when a personal pronoun is used to represent the second thing being compared, the subjective case of the pronoun is used. For example: John is taller than he. My friend is heavier than I. The husband is fatter than she. He loves you more than I. This is explained by the fact that (i) ‘than’ introduces a new sentence which begins with a subject, and (ii) the second half of the second sentence can be omitted completely. The omission of certain parts of a sentence is called ellipsis, e.g. He will need more time [than he has now]. Life can get better (than we have now gone).
Compare: (a) Jinapor loves you more than I (b) Jinapor loves you more than me. In (a) Jinapor loves you more than I love you. In (b) Jinapor loves you more than he loves me. Remember that ‘I’ is a pronoun that must be the subject of a verb. ‘Me’ is a pronoun that must be the object of a verb. Why is this sentence correct; Kwame and I went to the shop. The sentence can be broken into two; (i) Kwame went to the shop. (ii) I went to the shop. It would be wrong to have: Kwame and me went to the shop. The comparative forms of adjectives are not used when one thing is being described without comparing it with another e.g. (WRONG) Our school has no better laboratory equipment. (CORRECT) Our school has no good laboratory equipment. (CORRECT) Our school has no better laboratory than your school. (WRONG) When you go to that school, you meet better girls. (CORRECT) When you go to that school, you meet better girls than ours.
Do not confuse the subject ‘I’ with the object ‘me’. Remember that while it is wrong to have ‘better’, it is equally wrong to have ‘the strongest’