Degrees of Comparison: Special Structures Used for Comparing

We use the comparative to compare one person, thing, action or group with another person, thing etc. We use the superlative to compare somebody/something with the whole group that he/she/it belongs to.

Some special structures used for comparing are explained here.

All / any / none the + comparative

In this structure the means ‘by as much’.

• The journey was all the more difficult because our car broke down in the middle.
• Her high blood pressure made it all the more important to seek immediate medical attention.

Three / four times + comparative

The structure three / four times + comparative can be used instead of three / four times as much as.

• I can run three times faster than you. (= I can run three times as fast as you.)
• The task was ten times more difficult than I expected. (OR The task was ten times as much difficult as I expected.)
• The journey took four times longer than I had expected. (OR The journey took four times as long as I had expected.)

Note that twice and half cannot be followed by the structure times + comparative. Instead, we use the structures twice as…as and half as…as.

• You are not half as beautiful as you think you are. (NOT You are not half times less beautiful…)
• She is going out with a man twice as old as her.

Pronouns after as and than

In an informal style, object pronouns (me, him, them, her, us) are used after as and than. In a more formal style, subject pronouns (I, he, they, she, we) are used usually with verbs.

• I earn as much as him. (Less formal)
• I earn as much as he does. (More formal)
• She is older than me. (Less formal)
• She is older than I am. (More formal)

In this structure the subject pronoun is unusual if it is not followed by a verb.

Infinitives after superlatives

We often use the infinitive after a superlative. This structure has the same meaning as a relative clause.

• She is the youngest woman ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. (= She is the youngest woman who has ever won the Nobel Peace Prize.)

This structure is also possible after first, last and next.

• Who was the first woman to become the Prime Minister of the UK? (= Who was the first woman who became the Prime Minister of the UK?)

Non-assertive words after superlatives

Non-assertive words like ever, yet and any are not normally used in affirmative clauses. However, they can follow comparatives and superlatives.

• It’s the best book I have ever read.
• This is my hardest job yet.