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klafterreith

Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 429

Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 11:48 pm Post subject: more slowly

Please speak more slowly/slowlier. Would you accept both (in formal English)? Please comment.

askeladd

Joined: 05 Jan 2010
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago area, USA

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 7:50 am Post subject: Re: more slowly

klafterreith wrote:

Please speak more slowly/slowlier.

Would you accept both (in formal English)?

Please comment.

No - never use "more" + "-er" for the comparative. The only native speakers who do this are small children who haven't figured out the rules of grammar yet Wink

.

"Please speak slowlier" isn't right, either. There are no clear-cut rules for whether two-syllable adjectives need "more" or "-er" for the comparative, so the best thing to do is check with a dictionary if you're unsure. One-syllable words can form the comparative with "-er," and words of three or more syllables must use "more" to form the comparative.

Therefore only "Please speak more slowly" is acceptable.

Hope this helps Wink

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