I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVES
2. Comparatives for Showing Similarities and Differences
2.6 Comparing Quantities (How Much There Is of Something) Using More, Less, and Fewer
With comparatives or superlatives, we can also compare quantities of something—how much there is of that something. We can compare people, animals, and things, which are all nouns. However, we are not limited to comparing only things you can see or touch. We can also talk about things that are really just concepts of ideas. These are represented by abstract nouns. Abstract nouns include things like organization, anger, beauty, or activities.
Examples
The world needs more love.
This company needs more organization.
The second time she played the music, she did it with less difficulty.
This zoo has more animals than it used to.
Form: We use more, less, and fewer to compare different amounts of something. This could include things that have different amounts at different times.
Examples
Jakob has fewer books than Anna.
I have less money than I did last month.
2.6.1 Quantities of Things That We Can Count or Are Not Able to Count: Count and Non-countable Nouns
If we are going to talk about different amounts of something, it seems that we need to be able to count it; however, not all things, like water or sand, can be counted. For these, we talk about how much there is. For example, we can say, 'I drank two liters of soda.' We use different comparison words with count nouns (things that can be counted) than we do with non-count nouns (things that cannot be counted).
- For something that is > greater than: Use more for both countable and uncountable nouns.
- For something that is < less than: Use fewer for countable nouns. Use less for non-countable nouns.
Count nouns are things, people, or animals you can count. Obviously, you can count people or animals, but there are many things or substances in the world you cannot count. Many of them do not form separate units or entities or are difficult or impossible to count. Others are actually only ideas—they are abstract nouns, and it is not possible to count these. There are general categories for nouns that represent things you can't count.
Normally, we use 'than' to compare two things when we use 'more', 'less', or 'fewer'. However, when both objects/things/people being compared are not mentioned in the same sentence in which you make a comparison, we do not use 'than'.
Examples
There are fewer people than insects. (the things being compared are in the same sentence—use 'than')
There are probably trillions of insects in the world. There are fewer people. (the things being compared are in different sentences—'than' is not used)
The categories, with examples, of non-count nouns include the following:
- Substances: Air, water, sugar, rice (it may seem that you can count rice, but a 'separate' piece of rice is called a 'grain of rice'. You can count these. It is partly a cultural idea of what rice is. Rice is normally measured in quantity (how much—such as a cup of rice or a gram of rice).
- Abstract ideas: Love, peace, organization, advice, immigration
- Mass nouns: Clothing, furniture, equipment. Some of these have another synonym that can be counted such as machinery/a machine, luggage/a suitcase, furniture/a couch.
- Academic subjects, research fields, or languages: Geometry, science, German language, literature, art, Hmong language, music. Note: 'Math' is considered to be a count noun in some regions, while in others it is considered to be countable. This is because on a basic level, such as in an elementary/primary school, it is not countable, but at an advanced level, there are different fields of mathematics, such as calculus, trigonometry, or geometry—these are the different 'maths' in the area of mathematics.
- Elements of nature: Lightening/thunder, rain, weather (things like earthquakes can be counted).
Study Tips: Subject/Verb Agreement
Errors in subject/verb agreement are often not a result of an error in choosing a singular or plural verb; rather, it is usually because the speaker or writer is not sure if a particular noun or verb is singular or plural. The area of confusion is usually with non-count nouns. All non-count nouns are considered singular.
Exercise 1: Look at the following nouns and make short sentences.
Decide whether or not they are count or non-count nouns. Then, use either 'more', 'fewer', or 'less' to compare them. In this exercise, we use > for 'more than' and < for 'less than'. The first thing mentioned is what you should start with in your sentence. If there is a mixture of count and non-count nouns, the noun for which you use 'more', 'less' and 'fewer' should be considered as the noun that determines which word of quantity you use (more, less, or fewer). You should also add -s/-es to the noun if it is countable. Nhập câu trả lời vào ô trống.
Example: apple > orange
• There are more apples than oranges. (countable)
1. water < milk
Trả lời:
2. machines > people (at the factory)
Trả lời:
3. thunder < clouds
Trả lời:
4. furniture <rooms to put them in
Trả lời:
5. milk < coffee
Trả lời:
6. anger > peace
Trả lời:
7. country < language
Trả lời:
8. grapes < people to eat them
Trả lời:
Sample Answers
1. There is more water than milk.
2. There were more machines than people at the factory.
3. There was less thunder than clouds.
4. There is more furniture than rooms to put them in.
5. There is less milk than coffee.
6. There is more anger than peace.
7. There are fewer countries than languages.
8. There are more grapes than people to eat them.
Exercise 2: Create sentences using 'more', 'less' and 'fewer'.
First, decide whether the nouns are count or non-count and decide which comparison word to use. Then, guess or predict which of the pair of words has the greater quantity in the world. Finally, use one of the additional words and phrases given below to write a sentence or sentences. Try to use all the following three sentence patterns. Nhập câu trả lời vào ô trống.
Examples:
• The world has many lakes. There are fewer oceans. (two separate clauses)
• There is more salt water in the world than fresh water. (use one clause with two things being compared using 'than')
• The world has more salt water than fresh water. (use one of the things being compared as the subject of the sentence—use one clause with two things being compared using 'than')
1. butterflies/mosquitoes (in the world)
Trả lời:
2. locusts/plants (during some years, in some countries)
Trả lời:
3. rice/wheat/in North America/in China (with two clauses, use the coordinating conjunction showing contrast—'but')
Trả lời:
4. amount of land/Canada/Russia
Trả lời:
5. lions/tigers/in the world
Trả lời:
6. times of war, times of peace/in general/in history
Trả lời:
7. people in India/people in China
Trả lời:
8. usage of French/usage of English/in Canada
Trả lời:
9. Chinese speakers/English speakers
Trả lời:
10. Write three of your own sentences
Sample Answers
1. There are more mosquitoes than butterflies in the world.
2. In some countries and then some years, there are more locusts than plants.
3. In North America, a lot of wheat is grown, but in China more rice than wheat is grown.
4. There’s more land in Canada than in Russia.
5. It’s hard to say if there are more lions than tigers in the world.
6. In history and in general, there are more times of peace than times of war.
7. Currently, there are more people in India than in China.
8. The usage of French in Canada is less than the usage of English.
9. There are currently more English speakers than Chinese speakers in the world.
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