FAULTY

COMPARISONS

Presented by: Mrs Rehab

Mohamed

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Can you find the man
?in the coffee beans
– This is bizarre

.After you find the guy, it's so obvious

Once you find him - it's embarrassing, and you think,
”?“Why didn't I see him immediately
 .And, yes, the man is really there
Doctors have concluded that, if you find the man in 3
seconds, then the right half of your brain is better developed
.than most people

If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then
.your right half of the brain is developed normally

If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then
the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you
.need to Eat more protein

If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the right half
of your brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look for
more of these types of exercises to make that part of the
.brain stronger
 Now that you have found the man in the pile of
coffee beans, can you find the faulty comparison
error in the sentence below?
 Doctors have concluded that if you find the
man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right
half of your brain is better developed than most
people.  
 CORRECTION
 Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in
the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of
your brain is better developed than the right half of
the brain of most people.
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 The -er ending or more is added to adjectives and
adverbs in comparisons of two things or people.
 A competitive athlete practices daily to be swifter,
higher, and stronger than his or her opponent.
 Of the two candidates, he is the more qualified.
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 DEGREES OF COMPARISON
 Comparative Degree
 Superlative Degree
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Degrees of Comparison - Examples

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
gentle gentler gentlest
charismatic more charismatic most charismatic
dependable more dependable most dependable
expensive more expensive most expensive
clear clearer clearest
lengthy lengthier lengthiest
lucky luckier luckiest
smart smarter smartest
happy happier happiest
good better best
bad worse worst
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Rules for Comparing Things or People

 When comparing two  When comparing more
things or people, use than two things or
-er or more. people, use -est or
most.
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?TRUE OR FALSE
 According to the data released in September 2010
by the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States is
“one nation under the poverty line,” and
Mississippi is the most poorest state in the
country.
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?TRUE OR FALSE
 BAD GRAMMAR (Both most and –est are incorrectly added to
the adjective poor, creating a faulty (ungrammatical) comparison):
According to the data released in September 2010 by the U.S. Census
Bureau, the United States is “one nation under the poverty line,” and
Mississippi is the most poorest state in the country.
 CORRECTion: the poorest
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More Better English

Try to make your writing more clear by using logical -
.comparisons
Obviously, “more better” and “more clear” are -
grammatically incorrect. These are typical faulty
.comparisons
REVISED -
BETTER ENGLISH (No need for “more” and “better”)
Try to make your writing clearer by using logical
comparisons. (one-syllable adjective – add only –er)
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?Correct /Incorrect
 Gas costs are higher than last year.
 Gas costs twenty cents more than last year.
 THE INFORMATION MAY BE CORRECT, BUT
THE GRAMMAR IS INCORRECT.
 THE SENTENCES ABOVE CONTAIN FAULTY
COMPARISONS.
 Both sentences compare two dissimilar things: “gas
costs” and “gas” to “last year.”
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Corrections
 CHANGE: Gas costs are higher than last year.
 TO: Gas costs are higher than they were last year.
 Gas costs are higher than last year’s.
 CHANGE: Gas costs twenty cents more than last
year.
 TO: Gas costs twenty cents more than it did last
year.
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 Faulty comparisons occur when a writer

establishes an illogical or ungrammatical
relationship by comparing two or more dissimilar
people or things. Usually, -er and more or -est and
most appear with an adjective (more clearer, for
instance); or an illogical statement is made (Gas
prices are higher than last year).
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DOUBLE COMPARISONS
 Do not use both an -er/-est ending with the words
more/most: friendliest, NOT most friendliest.
 INCORRECT: She is the most happiest girl in the
world.
 CORRECT: She is the happiest girl in the world.
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The following sentences are both

.illogical and ungrammatical
 The people in the South are more friendlier than they are in
the North.
 The summer temperatures in Los Angeles are much higher
than San Francisco.
 My British accent is not as noticeable as Carlos.
 The Celtics beat the Lakers worse than the Heat.
 Our team is as good, or better than, the Wildcats.
 Of the two weightlifters, he is the strongest.
 Tyson hit Holyfield harder than Spinks.
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ILLOGICAL COMPARISONS
Do not compare dissimilar items.
CHANGE
 The interest at a loan company is higher than a bank.
TO
 higher than a bank’s.
OR
 higher than that of a bank.
OR
 higher than the interest at a bank.
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 OTHER / ELSE is used with ANY to ensure that
the person or thing being compared is excluded
from the group of which it is a part.
 More people get their news from CNN than from
any other source.
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OMISSION OF OTHER, ANY, and ELSE

CHANGE
 He has lost more jobs
than any president in the
last five years. (other is
missing)
TO
 than any other president
in the last five years.
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 More and -er are not combined in comparisons;
neither are most and -est.
 Among the high school seniors, Bland made the
highest score on the ACT.
NOT
 Among the high school seniors, Bland made the
most highest score on the ACT.
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 Comparisons between two people or things are
explicitly stated, not implied.
 I appreciate pop culture music better than my
roommate does.
NOT
 I appreciate pop culture music better than my
roommate. AMBIGUOUS
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 Comparisons are complete.
 The professor can do a better, more effective job
assisting students than she has in the past.
NOT
 The professor can do a better, more effective job
assisting students.
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INCOMPLETE COMPARISONS
CHANGE
 Television advertising is more effective.

TO
 more effective than magazine advertising.
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Recognizing CORRECT Comparisons

 Comparisons are logical.
 My adviser notified me that my grades are better
than they were last semester.
NOT
 My adviser notified me that my grades are better
than last semester.
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Comp
 If your writing instructor has written this abbreviation (comp) above a
part of one of your sentences, you have likely committed one of these
errors:
 Misuse of the superlative – Of the two wars, the Civil War was
the longest.
 Double comparison – more friendlier, most highest honor, most
farthest, more rounder
 Illogical comparison – a car smaller than her brother
 Ambiguous comparison – I like Stewart better than you.
 Incomplete comparison – Smiladent gives you whiter teeth.
 Omission of “other” / “else” – A Toyota gets better gas mileage
than any Japanese car.
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!!!LET’S PRACTICE
 Roses are traditionally more symbolic than any
flower.
 any other flower
 I am more lonelier here than I was in California.
 I am lonelier
 Our new apartment is just as spacious, if not more
spacious than, our old one.
 just as spacious as
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