Def: Adjective is a word that tells something more about a noun hence they are also called as modifiers.
There are three errors related to adjectives that are evaluated in CAT:
- Modifiers (misplaced/dangling)
- Misused adjectives
- Degrees of comparison
This quiz was based on a few misused adjectives.
Answers
- A little/little is known about the author of this book.[little means not many and hence has a negative connotation while a little means some and has a positive connotation;so depending on the meaning to be conveyed both can be used]
- There are fewer tourists visiting this place every year.[few is used with countable nouns while less is used with uncountable nouns;since number of tourists can be counted we would use fewer]
- My sister is elder to me by six years.[older can be used for both animate and inanimate objects and takes a than in the comparative degree but elder is used only for animate and preferably among family members and takes a to in the comparative degree]
- I have some money which I am planning to invest in the stock market.[some is used with uncountable nouns while few is used with countable nouns]
- He is a fairly intelligent person.[fairly is an adverb and used with positive adjectives and rather is an adverb which would be used with negative adjectives]
Ma'am, I came across Cambridge usage which states 'older than' is the most appropriate way of usage in this context. Please advise...
ReplyDeleteHello Ma'm,
ReplyDeleteEven I would like to know as in why we cannot use 'older than' in the sentence. I had marked 'older than' as my answer in the quiz....!
Hello Ma'm
ReplyDeleteI would like to know why we cannot use 'rather'in the sentence. Even "He is a rather intelligent person." also sounds correct. The answer should be both
Hello Ma'm,
ReplyDeleteI would like to know why we cannot use 'rather', even that sounds good...i think the answer should be both...
Dear Raks and Namrata,
ReplyDeleteThe usage 'older than' is grammatically correct but would be incorrect in the above context as we use 'elder to' for siblings.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteWhat sounds right need not be right though this is how we use our language.'Rather' as an adverb is used to indicate negativity in a sentence and 'fairly' has a positive connotation.Since being intelligent is considered to be a positive trait (though a lot of people might not agree with me) the usage of only 'fairly' would be appropriate in the above sentence.
ma'am i dint understud how it is elder to and not elder than?pls explain and even i think it shud be fairly and rather both how come it is fairly only?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteAs per the rules of grammar all traditional adjectives take a 'than' in the comparative degree while the non-traditional ones take a 'to'.Older is a traditional adjective and hence takes a 'than' in the comparative degree while elder being a non-traditional adjective takes a 'to'.