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In general linguistics, the comparative is a syntactic construction that serves to express a comparison between two (or more) entities or groups of entities in quality or degree - see also
comparison (grammar) Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages ...
for an overview of comparison, as well as positive and
superlative Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages t ...
degrees of comparison. The syntax of comparative constructions is poorly understood due to the complexity of the data. In particular, the comparative frequently occurs with independent mechanisms of syntax such as coordination and forms of
ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
(
gapping In linguistics, gapping is a type of ellipsis that occurs in the non-initial conjuncts of coordinate structures. Gapping usually elides minimally a finite verb and further any non-finite verbs that are present. This material is "gapped" from the no ...
,
pseudogapping Pseudogapping is an ellipsis mechanism that elides most but not all of a non-finite verb phrase; at least one part of the verb phrase remains, which is called the ''remnant''. Pseudogapping occurs in comparative and contrastive contexts, so it app ...
, null complement anaphora, stripping,
verb phrase ellipsis In linguistics, verb phrase ellipsis (VP-ellipsis or VPE) is a type of elliptical construction and a type of anaphora in which a verb phrase has been left out (elided) provided that its antecedent can be found within the same linguistic context. ...
). The interaction of the various mechanisms complicates the analysis.


Absolute and null forms

A number of fixed expressions use a comparative form where no comparison is being asserted, such as ''higher education'' or ''younger generation''. These comparatives can be called ''absolute''. Similarly, a null comparative is one in which the starting point for
comparison Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...
is not stated. These comparisons are frequently found in
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, for example, in typical assertions such as ''Our burgers have more flavor'', ''Our picture is sharper'' or ''50% more''. These uses of the comparative do not mention what it is they are being compared to. In some cases it is easy to infer what the missing element in a null comparative is. In other cases, the speaker or writer has been deliberately vague, for example "
Glasgow's miles better Glasgow's miles better was a 1980s campaign to promote the city of Glasgow as a tourist destination and as a location for industry. It was developed by Scottish advertising agency Struthers Advertising, and featured the phrase "Glasgow's Miles B ...
". Scientific classification, taxonomy, and geographical categorization conventionally include the adjectives ''greater'' and ''lesser'', when a ''large'' or ''small'' variety of an item is meant, as in the
greater celandine ''Chelidonium majus'', the greater celandine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. One of two species in the genus ''Chelidonium'', it is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North Ame ...
as opposed to the
lesser celandine ''Ficaria verna'' (formerly ''Ranunculus ficaria'' ), commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dar ...
. These adjectives may at first sight appear as a kind of ''null comparative'', when as is usual, they are cited without their opposite counterpart. It should be apparent, however, that an entirely different variety of animal, scientific, or geographical object is intended. Thus it may be found, for example, that the
lesser panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzl ...
entails a
giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...
variety, and a gazetteer would establish that there are the
Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...
as well as the
Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...
. It is in the nature of grammatical conventions evolving over time that it is difficult to establish when they first became widely accepted, but both ''greater'' and ''lesser'' in these instances have over time become mere adjectives (or adverbial constructs), so losing their ''comparative'' connotation. Further, ''Greater'' indicates the inclusion of adjacent areas when referring to
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
s, such as when
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s are intended. Although it implies a comparison with a narrower definition that refers to a central city only, such as
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
versus the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, or Greater New York versus
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, it is not part of the "comparative" in the grammatical sense of this article. A comparative always compares something directly with something else.


Comparative coordination vs. comparative subordination

At times the syntax of comparatives matches the syntax of coordination, and at other times, it must be characterized in terms of subordination.


Comparative coordination

The syntax of comparatives can closely mirror the syntax of coordination. The similarity in structure across the following a- and b-sentences illustrates this point. The conjuncts of the coordinate structures are enclosed in square brackets: ::a.
he boys He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
and
he girls He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
sent flowers to him today. ::b. More oysthan irlssent flowers to him today. ::a.
he boys sent He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
and he girls dropped offflowers for him today. ::b. ''More boys sentthan irls dropped offflowers for him today. ::a. The boys sent lowers to himand hocolates to hertoday. ::b. More boys sent lowers to himthan hocolates to hertoday. ::a. The boys sent lowers to him todayand hocolates to her yesterday ::b. More boys sent lowers to him todaythan hocolates to her yesterday The structure of the b-sentences involving comparatives is closely similar to the structure of the a-sentences involving coordination. Based on this similarity, many have argued that the syntax of comparatives overlaps with the syntax of coordination at least some of the time. In this regard, the ''than'' in the b-sentences should be viewed as a coordinator (coordinate conjunction), not as a subordinator (subordinate conjunction).


Comparative subordination

Examples of the comparative that do not allow an analysis in terms of coordination (because the necessary parallel structures are not present) are instances of comparative
subordination Subordination may refer to *Subordination in a hierarchy (in military, society, etc.) ** Insubordination, disobedience *Subordination (linguistics) * Subordination (finance) * Subordination agreement, a legal document used to deprecate the claim ...
. In such cases, ''than'' has the status of a preposition or a subordinator (subordinate conjunction), e.g. ::a. We invited more people than wanted to come. ::b. A better striker was playing for them than we have. ::c. More passengers than the airline had issued tickets tried to board the plane. ::d. More guests than we had chairs showed up. ::e. Who did he eat more hotdogs than? Since the parallel structures associated with coordinate structures, i.e., the conjuncts, cannot be acknowledged in these sentences, the only analysis available is one in terms of subordination, whereby ''than'' has the status of a subordinator (as in sentences a-d) or of a preposition (as in sentence e). What this means is that the syntax of comparatives is complex because at times an analysis in terms of coordination is warranted, whereas at other times, the analysis must assume subordination.


Comparative deletion and subdeletion

There are two types of ellipsis that are unique to the ''than''-clauses of comparatives: ''comparative deletion'' and ''comparative subdeletion''. The existence of comparative deletion as an ellipsis mechanism is widely acknowledged, whereas the status of comparative subdeletion as an ellipsis mechanism is more controversial.


Comparative deletion

Comparative deletion is an obligatory ellipsis mechanism that occurs in the ''than''-clause of a comparative construction. The elided material of comparative deletion is indicated using a blank, and the unacceptable b-sentences show what is construed as having been elided in the a-sentences: ::a. Fred reads more books than Susan reads ___. ::b. *Fred reads more books than Susan reads books. - Sentence is bad because comparative deletion has not occurred. ::a. We invited more people than ___ came. ::b. *We invited more people than people came. - Sentence is bad because comparative deletion has not occurred. ::a. She was happier than I was ___. ::b. *She was happier than I was happy. - Sentence is bad because comparative deletion has not occurred.


Comparative subdeletion

Comparative subdeletion is a second type of ellipsis in comparatives that some accounts acknowledge. It occurs when the focused constituent in the ''than''-clause is not deleted because it is distinct from its counterpart in the main clause. In other words, comparative subdeletion occurs when comparative deletion does not because the constituents being compared are distinct, e.g. ::a. He has more cats than he has __ dogs. ::b. Fewer women showed up than __ men wanted to dance. ::c. You were happier than I was __ sad. ::b. The table is as wide as it is __ tall. Accounts that acknowledge comparative subdeletion posit a null measure expression in the position marked by the blank (x-many, x-much). This element serves to focus the expression in the same way that ''-er'' or ''more'' focuses its counterpart in the main clause. Various arguments are put forth that motivate the existence of this null element. These arguments will not be reproduced here, though. Suffice it to say that the sentences in which subdeletion is supposedly occurring are qualitatively different from sentences in which comparative deletion occurs, e.g., ''He has more cats than you have ___ .''


Independent ellipsis mechanisms in ''than''-clauses

There are a number of independent
ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
mechanisms that occur in the ''than-''clauses of comparative constructions:
gapping In linguistics, gapping is a type of ellipsis that occurs in the non-initial conjuncts of coordinate structures. Gapping usually elides minimally a finite verb and further any non-finite verbs that are present. This material is "gapped" from the no ...
,
pseudogapping Pseudogapping is an ellipsis mechanism that elides most but not all of a non-finite verb phrase; at least one part of the verb phrase remains, which is called the ''remnant''. Pseudogapping occurs in comparative and contrastive contexts, so it app ...
, null complement anaphora, stripping, and
verb phrase ellipsis In linguistics, verb phrase ellipsis (VP-ellipsis or VPE) is a type of elliptical construction and a type of anaphora in which a verb phrase has been left out (elided) provided that its antecedent can be found within the same linguistic context. ...
. These mechanisms are independent of comparative clauses because they also occur when the comparative is not involved. The presence of these ellipsis mechanisms in ''than''-clauses complicates the analysis considerably, since they render it difficult to discern which aspects of the syntax of comparatives are unique to comparatives. ::a. You should visit me on Tuesday, and I ___ you on Wednesday. - Gapping without the comparative ::b. You visited me on Tuesdays more than I ___ you on Wednesdays. - Gapping with the comparative ::a. He will say it twice before she has ___ once. - Pseudogapping without the comparative ::b. More people will say it twice than ___ will ___ just once. - Pseudogapping with the comparative; comparative deletion also present ::a. He did it as I expected ___ . - Null complement anaphora without the comparative ::b. He did it more than I expected ___ . - Null complement anaphora with the comparative ::a. Men did it, and women ___ too. - Stripping without the comparative ::b. More men did it than women ___ . - Stripping analysis possible here ::a. Susan has helped when you have ___ . - Verb phrase ellipsis without the comparative ::b. Susan has helped more than you have ___ . - Verb phrase ellipsis with the comparative The fact that the five independent ellipsis mechanisms (and possibly others) can occur in the ''than''-clauses of comparatives has rendered the study of the syntax of comparatives particularly difficult. One is often not sure which ellipsis mechanisms are involved in a given ''than''-clause. One thing is clear, however: the five ellipsis mechanisms illustrated here are distinct from the two ellipsis mechanisms that are unique to comparatives mentioned above (comparative deletion and comparative subdeletion).


Double comparatives

If an adjective has two comparative markers, it is known as a double comparative (e.g. ''more louder'', ''
worser Worser may refer to: *Worser Bay, a bay in New Zealand *Worser Creek, a stream in Texas, USA See also * Worse (disambiguation) * Worst (disambiguation) * Worster Worster is a surname. People with the surname include: * Alexander Worster (188 ...
''). The use of double comparatives is generally associated with
Appalachian English Appalachian English is American English native to the Appalachian mountain region of the Eastern United States. Historically, the term "Appalachian dialect" refers to a local English variety of southern Appalachia, also known as Smoky Mounta ...
and
African American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
, though they were common in
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
and were used by Shakespeare. ::"The Duke of Milan / and his more braver daughter could controul thee."—Shakespeare, ''The Tempest''


Universals of comparative constructions

Russell Ultan (1972) surveyed 20 languages and observed that the comparative and superlative are inflected forms of (near-)identical bases with respective to the positive and equative.
Jonathan D. Bobaljik Jonathan David Bobaljik () is a Canadian linguist specializing in morphology, syntax, and typology. Bobaljik received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 with a thesis titled ''Morphosyntax: The syntax of verbal infl ...
(2012) contends that Ultan’s generalization is a strong contender for a linguistic universal. Bobaljik formulates the Comparative-Superlative Generalization: With respect to the positive, if any adjective’s comparative degree were suppletive, so would its superlative; vice versa, if any adjective’s superlative degree were suppletive, then so would its comparative. Bobaljik phrases the
Containment Hypothesis In generative linguistics, Distributed Morphology is a theoretical framework introduced in 1993 by Morris Halle and Alec Marantz.Halle, Morris & Alec Marantz. 1993. 'Distributed Morphology and the Pieces of Inflection.' In The View from Building ...
thus: "The representation of the superlative properly contains that of the comparative (in all languages that have a morphological superlative)". Indeed: *in many languages (
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, Ubykh,
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
, Chukchi, etc.) the superlative transparently contains the comparative; *in
Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
,
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, Klon,
Totonac The Totonac are an indigenous people of Mexico who reside in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo. They are one of the possible builders of the pre-Columbian city of El Tajín, and further maintained quarters in Teotihuacán (a city wh ...
, etc. the comparatives and the superlatives are formally similar; *in
Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Maltese, etc. the superlatives are derived from the comparatives by means of the addition of definite articles. Additionally, Bobaljik asserts that Universal Grammar lacks the superlative morpheme.


See also

* Coordination *
Ellipsis The ellipsis (, also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term origin ...
*
Gapping In linguistics, gapping is a type of ellipsis that occurs in the non-initial conjuncts of coordinate structures. Gapping usually elides minimally a finite verb and further any non-finite verbs that are present. This material is "gapped" from the no ...
*
Pseudogapping Pseudogapping is an ellipsis mechanism that elides most but not all of a non-finite verb phrase; at least one part of the verb phrase remains, which is called the ''remnant''. Pseudogapping occurs in comparative and contrastive contexts, so it app ...
* Stripping *
Subordination Subordination may refer to *Subordination in a hierarchy (in military, society, etc.) ** Insubordination, disobedience *Subordination (linguistics) * Subordination (finance) * Subordination agreement, a legal document used to deprecate the claim ...
*
Verb phrase ellipsis In linguistics, verb phrase ellipsis (VP-ellipsis or VPE) is a type of elliptical construction and a type of anaphora in which a verb phrase has been left out (elided) provided that its antecedent can be found within the same linguistic context. ...


Notes


References

*Bobaljik, J. D. 2012. Universals in Comparative Morphology. MIT Press. *Bresnan, J. 1973. Syntax of the comparative clause construction in English. Linguistic Inquiry 35, 275-343. *Bresnan, J. 1976. On the form and functioning of transformations. Linguistic Inquiry 7, 3-40. *Corver, N. 2006. Comparative deletion and subdeletion. Volume 1, The Blackwell companion to syntax, eds. M. Everaert and H. van Riemsdijk, 582-637. Malden: Blackwell. *Grimshaw, J. 1987. Subdeletion. Linguistic Inquiry, 659-669. *Huddleston, R. and G. Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge grammar of the English Language. *Lechner, W. 2004. Ellipsis in comparatives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. *Napoli D.J. 1983. Comparative ellisis: A phrase structure analysis. Linguistic Inquiry 14, 675-694. *Osborne, T. 2009. Comparative coordination vs. comparative subordination. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 27, 427-454. *Pinkham, J. 1982. The formation of comparative clauses in French and English. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. *Ryan, K. 1983. ''Than'' as a coordination. Papers from the nineteenth regional meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society. 353-361. *Stassen, Leon. 1985. Comparison and universal grammar. Oxford: Blackwell. *Ultan, Russell. 1972. Some features of basic comparative constructions. Working Papers in Language Universals 9, 117-132. {{div col end Grammar Grammatical construction types da:Komparativ