Posted by beardedlady on April 19, 2003, at 13:00:39
In reply to Re: The Best (or The Better?) of Both Worlds?, posted by ayuda on April 18, 2003, at 11:37:45
> I think that what stood out the most to me was the difference between a superlative and a comparitive. So now the grammarians can give us some insights on the difference between superlatives and comparitives.
Hiya, Hon:
I think (not sure) that comparitives are for two items. If you only have one sister, she can't be the oldest or youngest sister; she can only be the older or younger. That's comparitive.
Superlatives deal with three or more levels; almost all end in est (the superlative suffix).
That's about all I know on this subject. Oh, except you can only use the word "between" when you are speaking of two objects or people: between you and me. And you use "among" when there are more people: she was the prettiest among us.
Oh, and because "different" is a comparitive, not a superlative, you say "different from," not "different than."
O.K. I'm truly finished with my PBA posts for a long, long time. See you at Jay's, where the spyware lurks!
weirded beardo : )>
poster:beardedlady
thread:220096
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20030404/msgs/220652.html