ADJECTIVES

145. The Adjective is correctly used with a verb when some quality of the subject,
rather than of the action of the action of the verb, is to be expressed; as,
The flowers smell sweet (not sweetly).
She looks dainty.
That statement sounds queer.
As a general rule, if any phrase denoting manner could be substituted, the
adverb should be used; but if some part of the verb to be could be employed as a
connective, the Adjective is required.
The ship appeared suddenly.
The decision appears unjust.
His friends now began to look coldly upon him.
146. The plural forms these and those are often used with the singular nouns
kind and sort; as,
These kind of things.
Such a form of expression is, however, constantly heard and occurs in good
writers.
Some grammarians insist that we should say:
“This kind of things” or, better, “Things of this kind.”
147. The words, superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior, anterior, and posterior,
take to instead of than, as,
As a novelist, Jane Austen is superior to Mrs. Henry Wood.
Tahir is inferior to Ali in intelligence.
He is senior to me.
148. In comparing two things or classes of things the Comparative should be
used; as,
Of the two suggestions, the former is the better.
Of the two novels, this is the more interesting.
` He is the taller of the two.
This rule is, however, not strictly observed. In informal English, the superlative is
often used when we talk about one of only two items. We can use best, most
interesting, cheapest and tallest in the sentences above.
149. When a comparison is instituted by means of a Comparative followed by
than, the thing compared must be always excluded from the class of things with which it
is compared, by using other or some such words, as,
He is stronger than any other man living.
[The sentence “He is stronger than any man living: suggests that the person
referred to is stronger than himself, which is of course, absurd.]
Mussolini may be said to have done more for the unity of Italy than any other man.
The Nile is said to be longer than all other rivers in the eastern hemisphere.
The Taj is more beautiful than all other mausoleums.
Solomon was wiser than all other men.
150. In a comparison by means of a Superlative, the latter term should include
the former; as,
 Solomon was the wisest of all men (not all other men.)
The crocodile is the largest of all reptiles.
The Amazon is the largest of all rivers.
Of all men, he is the strongest.
151. Of any is often used incorrectly in conjunction with a Superlative; as,
He has the lighter touch of any other musician.
This should be rewritten as follows:
He has a lighter touch than any other musician.
[Or] No other musician has so light a touch.
152. A very common form of error is exemplified in the following sentence:
The population of London is greater than any city in India.
Say:
The population of London is greater than that of any city in India.
The comparison is between:
(i) the population of London and
(ii) the population of any city in India.
153. Double Comparatives and Superlatives are to be avoided, though their use
was once common in English. Thus, we have in Shakespeare-
It was the most unkindest cut of all.
The following sentence is incorrect:
Seldom had the little town seen a more costlier funeral. [Omit more]
But lesser (a double comparative ) is used even by the best authors.
The lesser of the two evils.
154. Preferable has the force of a Comparative, and is followed by to. We must
not say preferable.
He has a scheme of his own which he thinks preferable to that of any other person.
155. Less (the comparative of little) is used before uncountable nouns, while
fewer (the comparative of few) is used before plural nouns. However, less is also
often used before plural nouns in informal English.
No fewer (or less) than fifty miners were killed in the explosion.
156. Certain adjectives do not really admit of comparison because their meaning
is already superlative; as,
Unique, ideal, perfect, complete, universal, entire, extreme, chief, square, round
Do not therefore say:
Most unique, quite unique, chiefest, extremist.
But we still say, for instance:
This is the most perfect specimen I have seen.
157. Older and oldest may be said either of persons or of things, while elder and
eldest apply to persons only, and are besides, strictly speaking, confined to
members of the same family.
Gladstone was older than Morley.
He will succeed to the title in the event of the death of his elder brother.
Patricia is the eldest of the Vicar’s family.
Old Farmer Giles is the oldest inhabitant in our village.
158. The two first is a meaningless expression, for it implies that two things may
be first. We should say “the first two.”
The first two chapters of the novel are rather dull.
The first two boys were awarded gold medals.
159. Few and a few have different meanings.
Few is negative, and equivalent to not many, hardly any.
A few is positive, and equivalent to some.
Few persons can keep a secret.
A few words spoken in earnest will convince him.
Similarly little = not much; a little = some, though not much.
There is little hope of his recovery.
A little tact would have saved the situation.
160. Latter is often wrongly used for fast. Use latter when there are two only, last
when there are more.
Of the three, tea, coffee and cocoa, the last (not latter) is his favorite.
161. Verbal is often wrongly used for oral.
Verbal means of or pertaining to words; oral means, ‘delivered by word of mouth’, not written.
Hence the opposite of written is oral, not verbal.
His written statement differs in several important respects from his oral (not verbal)
statement.
The lad was sent with an oral message to the doctor.
There are a few verbal differences in the two manuscripts (i.e., differences in words, not
in sense).
The photograph will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal
description.
Were your instructions oral or written?
162. Do not say ‘our mutual friend’ The proper expression is ‘our common friend’.
They were introduced to each other by a common (not mutual) friend.
We happened to meet at the house of a common friend.