Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ShoHiro]

Hello teachers,

There are some following comparative sentences in English:

(1) a. John is a better scholar than he is a teacher.
b. She writes better short stories than she does poems.

(1a, b) are accpetable. But the following sentences are unacceptable:

(2) a. *She bought a prettier dress than she bought/did a shirt.
b. *Joe is a taller man than Mary is a woman.
c. *I saw better movies than I saw/did plays.

How about the following sentences?

(3) a. She bought a cheaper dress than she bought/did a shirt.
b. Joe is a better man than Mary is a woman.

ShoHiro

[pugachevV]

The sentences in 3. don't work either. You have just used the comparative of different adjectives from those in #2.

You could say, " The dress she bought was prettier/cheaper than the shirt she bought".

The movies I saw were better than the plays I saw.

I don't think you can do much with John and Mary.
John is taller than Mary is OK.
John is taller than the average man, Mary is not taller than the average woman, may convey what you are trying to say.