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AZ679
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Comparisons with greater, less, lower, more, ... Page 201-2

by AZ679 Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:51 am

My questions are on pages 201-202 of Manhattan SC book, 5th Edition:

Page 201:
Right: THE NUMBER of dogs IS greater than the number of cats.

Could we use 'higher' or 'more' as well?
How about 'larger'?

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Page 202:
Right: The rare Montauk beaked griffin is not extinct; its NUMBERS are now suspected to be much GREATER than before.


1. The opposite of 'greater' in this sentence is 'less'? Can we also use 'lower'?

2. Could we use 'higher' or 'larger' in this sentence as well?

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Page 202:
Right: The price of silver is five dollars GREATER than the price of copper.

Similar questions:

1. Can we use 'more', 'higher' or 'larger' here?
As well as their opposites: 'less', lower' or 'smaller'.
AZ679
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Re: Comparisons with greater, less, lower, more, ... Page 201-2

by AZ679 Wed May 20, 2015 6:10 am

No reply yet. Why?! Are they difficult questions? :)
RonPurewal
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Re: Comparisons with greater, less, lower, more, ... Page 201-2

by RonPurewal Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:10 am

the most important thing i can write about all of these things is that, if you see them on the exam, they are probably there to distract you from more fundamental differences.

of all these differences, the only one that has any real chance of being dispositive in a problem is "more" vs. everything else. here are some guidelines:

* in formal writing, "more" can be used...
...as an adverb (People drive more in Texas than in New York), or
...in front of a noun (Jess owns more land than any of her sisters).

* if you see "x is/are more than y", you can eliminate it.
the same goes for anything derived by extension (e.g., x is believed to be more than y).

that's enough to make the decision in OG Verbal Supp #70, the problem on which this item is clearly based.
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Re: Comparisons with greater, less, lower, more, ... Page 201-2

by RonPurewal Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:10 am

among the others, the only difference that might conceivably be tested is that 'less' can be used as an adverb, while 'lower' and 'smaller' can't.
if any of the other distinctions (higher/larger or lower/smaller) appears, i can guarantee you that it's just a distraction, and that there are more fundamental issues lurking in the same choices.