Korean Job Discussion Forums

eddie1983man · Joined: 31 May 2007

Somehow this came up over galbi the other night. half the table said more clever and the other half thought cleverer.

so which one is it?

Thiuda · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:48 am Post subject:

Personally I would say more clever, but cleverer received more hits on Google. "More Clever" received 553k hits, cleverer 803k.

bogey666 · Joined: 17 Mar 2008 Location: Korea, the ass free zone

aloysha · Joined: 18 Sep 2005

I believe that 'clever' falls into the list of special exceptions
in which both '-er' and 'more' are both acceptable. I am
partial to 'more clever' though.

Saying 'cleverer' reminds me of that poster named 'rural juror'
which just sounds like a mouthful of marbles.

Anyways, always side with the majority if some sort of pain is
involved with the contrary.

Seon-bee · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: ROK

As far as I know and what I commonly teach,

1) One syllable, add --er
2) Two or more syllables, use --more + adjective

Irregular exceptions: good (better), bad (worse), far (further/farther)

And there are exceptions to the rule. They go both ways: simple, quiet, clever, (and probably a couple of other examples).

bacasper · Joined: 26 Mar 2007

Seon-bee · Joined: 24 Jan 2003 Location: ROK

Hi bacasper,

Not where I come from. How about these two-syllable words. They can go either way, you say?

careful--Bob is carefuller than Harry.
boring--English class sure is way boringer than art class.
crowded--Wow! This bus is crowdeder than that one.
pleasant--Christmas is pleasanter than Thanksgiving.
peaceful--Christians are peacefuller than Buddhists.

A quick online check gave a list of five adjectives with both --er and --more usage.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
clever cleverer cleverest
clever more clever most clever
gentle gentler gentlest
gentle more gentle most gentle
friendly friendlier friendliest
friendly more friendly most friendly
quiet quieter quietest
quiet more quiet most quiet
simple simpler simplest
simple more simple most simple

bacasper · Joined: 26 Mar 2007

Did I mention there are exceptions? Embarassed

Scotticus · Joined: 18 Mar 2007

I would think that the auditory abortion caused by saying the word "cleverer" would stop anyone from actually using it. Makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

i · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Location: Seoul

A few more I don't think can go either way...
patient
stubborn
honest

He is the honestest person I've met????

I've heard stubbornest, but doesn't sound right.

bogey666 · Joined: 17 Mar 2008 Location: Korea, the ass free zone

Underwaterbob · Joined: 08 Jan 2005 Location: In Cognito

Reminds me of a couple of my favorite R-L tongue twisters:

A real weird rear wheel.
Really leery, rarely Larry.

Jeju Rocks · Joined: 23 Aug 2004

Boys go to Mars,
to get the chocolate bars,
Girls go to Jupiter,
to get more stupider.
Confused

Check out the night sky. Venus, Jupiter and the moon are all quite visible.

refikaM · Joined: 06 May 2006 Location: Gangwondo

The English language constantly changes... Perhaps 50 years ago, "cleverer" would not be acceptable anywhere.. Now it is. Look how much "Early Modern English" (which is the stage in English history where we still are but began in the early 1500s) has changed since Shakespeare's time..

refikaM · Joined: 06 May 2006 Location: Gangwondo

The English language constantly changes... Perhaps 50 years ago, "cleverer" would not be acceptable anywhere.. Now it is. Look how much "Early Modern English" (which is the stage in English history where we still are but began in the early 1500s) has changed since Shakespeare's time..