ADJECTIVES

145. The Adjective is correctly used with a verb when some quality of the subject, rather than of the action of the verb, is to be expressed; as,

The flowers smelt sweet (not sweetly).

She looks dainty.

That statement sounds queer.

It tastes sour.

He feels sad.

As a general rule, if any phrase denoting manner could be substituted, the adverb should

be used; but if some part of the verb to be could be employed as a connective, the

Adjective is required.

The ship appeared suddenly.

The decision appears unjust.

His friends now began to look coldly upon him.

He looks cold.

We feel warmly on the subject.

We feel warm.

He spoke angrily.

He looked angry.

146. The plural forms these and those are often used with the singular nouns kind and sort; as,

These kind of things.

Such a form of expression is, however, constanly heard and occurs in good writers.

Some grammarians insist that we should say:-

“This kind of things” or, better, “Things of this kind.”

147. The words, superior, inferior, senior, junior, prior, anterior, and posterior, take to instead of than, as,

As a novelist Jane Austen is superior to Mrs. Henry Wood.

Hari is inferior to Rama in intelligence.

The death of King Edward VII was prior to World War I.

He is senior to me.

148. In comparing two things or classes of things the Comparative should be used ; as,

Of the two suggestions, the former is the better.

Of the two novels, this is the more interesting.

Which is the cheaper of the two?

He is the taller of the two.

This rule is, however, not strictly observed. In informal English the superlative is often

used when we talk about one of only two items. We can use best, most interesting,

cheapest and tallest in the sentences above.

149. When a comparison is instituted by means of a Comparative followed by than, the

thing compared must be always excluded from the class of things with which it is

compared, by using other or some such words; as,

He is stronger than any other man living.

[The sentence “He is stronger than any man living” suggests that the person referred to is

stronger than himself, which is of course, absurd.]

Mussolini may be said to have done more for the unity of Italy than any other man.

The Nile is said to be longer than all other rivers in the eastern hemisphere.

The Taj is more beautiful than all other mausoleums. Solomon was wiser than all other men.

150. In a comparison by means of a Superlative, the latter term should include the former; as,

Solomon was the wisest of all men (not all other men. )

The crocodile is the largest of all reptiles.

The Amazon is the largest of all rivers.

Of all men he is the strongest.

151. Of any is often used incorrectly in conjunction with a Superlative; as,

He has the lightest touch of any musician.

This should be rewritten as follows:-

He has a lighter touch than any other musician.

[Or] No other musician has so light a touch.

152. A very common form of error is exemplified in the following sentence:

The population of London is greater than any city in India.

Say:

The population of London is greater than that of any city in India.

The comparison is between:

(i) the population of London and

(ii) the population of any city in India.

153. Double Comparatives and Superlatives are to be avoided, though their use was once

common in English. Thus, we have in Shakespeare-

It was the most unkindest cut of all.

The following sentence is incorrect:

Seldom had the little town seen a more costlier funeral. [Omit more] But lesser (a double

comparative) is used even by the best authors.

The lesser of the two evils.

154. Perferable has the force of a Comparative, and is followed by to. We must not say

more preferable.

He has a scheme of his own which he thinks preferable to that of any other person.

155. Less (the comparative of little) is used before uncountable nouns, while-fewer (the

comparative of few) is used before plural nouns.

However, less is also often used before plural nouns in informal English.

No fewer (or less) than fifty miners were killed in the explosion.

156. Certain adjectives do not really admit of comparison because their meaning is

already superlative; as,

Unique, ideal, perfect, complete, universal, entire, extreme, chief, full, squire, round

Do not therefore say:

Most unique, quite unique, chiefest, extremist, fullest, But we still say, for instance:

This is the most perfect specimen I have seen.

157. Older and oldest, may be said either of persons or of things, while elder and eldest

apply to persons only, and are besides, strictly speaking, confined to members of the

same family.

Gladstone was older than Morley.

He will succeed to the title in the event of the death of his elder brother.

Patricia is the eldest of the Vicar's family.

Old Farmer Giles is the oldest inhabitant in our village.

158. The two first is a meaningless expression, for it implies that two things may be first.

We should say "the first two."

The first two chapters of the novel are rather dull. The first two boys were awarded gold

medals.

159. Few and a few have different meanings.

Few is negative, and equivalent to not many, hardly any. A few is positive, and

equivalent to some.

Few persons can keep a secret.

A few words spoken in earnest will convince him.

Similarly little = not much; a little = some, though not much.

There is little hope of his recovery.

A little tact would have saved the situation.

160. Latter is often wrongly used for last. Use latter when there are two only, last when

there are more.

Of the three, tea, coffee and cocoa, the last (not latter) is his favourite.

161. Verbal is often wrongly used for oral.

Verbal means 'of or pertaining to words'; oral means, 'delivered by word of mouth' not

written. Hence the opposite of written is oral, not verbal.

His written statement differs in several important respects from his oral (not verbal)

statement.

The lad was sent with an oral message to the doctor.

There are a few verbal differences in the two manuscripts (i.e., differences in words, not

in sense).

The photograph will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal

description.

Were your instructions oral or written?

162. Do not say 'our mutual friend.' The proper expression is 'our common friend'.

They were introduced to each other by a common (not mutual) friend.

We happened to meet at the house of a common friend.