Semantics of Comparative Adjective/ Adverb
In the sentence ‘She is more than all of us combined’, ‘more’ is used for comparison of some adjective of noun typical in context of sentences or discussion earlier or the topic. In this case it may mean ‘smarter’ or ‘more resourceful’ or ‘more capable’ or heavier or stronger etc. Therefore ‘more than’ cannot be used in isolation and expected to refer to only quantity or amount for example. It may mean ‘more expensive’ or ‘more common’ in the sentence ‘Imported apples are more than Indian apples in the market.’ In the sentence, ‘One-rupee coins are more than two-rupee coin’, it may mean more needful or more valuable or heavier. However in the sentences, ‘Tables are more than chairs./ Income is less than expenditure', reference is to quantity and amount respectively because these meanings are intrinsic to the words. In order to ensure reference to quantity, it is better to use ‘there is/are’ which means ’there exit/s’. Alternately choice is to make it explicit by using the phrase ‘the number/amount of ...’ Yet another way is to use greater than or larger than or fewer than or more/less numerous or more/less plentiful. Thus this issue is more about semantics than grammar and typical of comparison of one noun phrase with another linked by ‘be’ link verb.
Parallelism with Comparative Adjective and Adverb [Part 5 of 5]
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