Lesson: Word Choice - "lay" vs. "lie" and more

Comment on Word Choice - "lay" vs. "lie" and more

Hi Brent,

Can we say Matt is taller than Edward and Bill?
is it also correct to say "Matt is taller than both Edward and Bill"?
or do we have to use superlatives?

Thanks

YT
gmat-admin's picture

Both of those sentences are good.

gmat-admin's picture

Both of those sentences are good.

so, although we compared more that 2 entities, in this case we can use comparative!. is there a clear exception rule?
gmat-admin's picture

When we say "Matt is taller than Edward and Bill," we are really saying "Matt is taller than Edward, and Matt is taller than Bill." So, we are still comparing 2 things at a time.

Great video!

Is there a list of all the rules that are enforced by GMAT, but not universally accepted (e.g. 'comparative + THEN' rule)?
gmat-admin's picture

Thanks Marius!
Sorry, I don't have such a list.

Cheers,
Brent

If I say "My mother cooks better than anyone else", is that considered correct? I am wondering since anyone else is an undefined entity and not necessarily between 2 subjects.

Cheers and thanks for all your answers!

Philipp
gmat-admin's picture

"My mother cooks better than anyone else" is perfectly fine, because there's no potential for ambiguity.

However, the sentence "My mother cooks chicken better than anyone else" DOES have the potential for ambiguity.
It could mean: My mother cooks chicken better than anyone else cooks chicken.
or
It could mean: My mother cooks chicken better than she cooks anyone (i.e., other people).

Hi Brent,

In the last example, we are comparing the summer to the rest of the year, yet we are using a comparative than a superlative. Are we assuming a fixed number of seasons in the year ?

Shouldn't it be "Max is happiest during the summer" or "Max is happier during the summer than in Winter/Fall" ?
gmat-admin's picture

Great question!
In that particular sentence, we're dividing the year into TWO parts: summer and non-summer (aka the rest of the year)
So, we need the comparative.

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