The comparative for fussy is fussier. But is it acceptable to say, for example, &quot;Less affection will make the baby more fussy&quot;? (Is it so awkward to use &quot;less X, more Y&quot; in this way?)
19093
I know the rule for making the comparative and superlative form for two-syllable words ending in y, replace the -y with i and use -er and  -est:    hap.py → happier → (the) happiest ti.dy → tidier → (the) tidiest fun.ny → funnier → (the) funniest  Instead for two-syllable adjectives which do not end in -y, use more and most:    bor.ing → more boring wor.ried → more worried care.ful → more careful tra.gic → more tragic  However, there are inexplicable exceptions: The Free Dictionary says the comparative and superlative form of  is cleverer and cleverest. Yet to my ears     He's more clever than I thought   sounds more formal and correct.  Google produces a total of  for “he is more clever than” and  for the contracted form,  “he's more clever than”. Similarly, Google yields  and  for “he's cleverer than” and “he is cleverer than” respectively, which suggests there is very little to choose between the two comparative forms.  Meanwhile, TFD insists that the comparative and superlative form of  is  simpler and simplest. Google seems to concur and produces  for “it is simpler” compared to only  for “it is more simple”.  The two-syllable adjectives that I am aware of, which have both kinds of comparative and superlative forms are:   clever → cleverer/more clever → cleverest/(the) most clever common → commoner/more common → commonest/(the) most common gentle → gentler/more gentle → gentlest/(the) most gentle humble → humbler/more humble (etc.) hollow → hollower/more hollow  narrow → narrower/more narrow  polite → politer/more polite quiet → quieter/more quiet simple → simpler/more simple stupid → stupider/more stupid subtle → subtler/more subtle   Etymologically speaking, is there any explanation for this?  Is it a recent trend?  It seems to me that the number of two-syllable adjectives that add the suffix -er and -est are increasing.   And finally, is there a trick or rule which I can teach my advanced private students? With younger learners and beginners I teach the “rule” that I mentioned at the beginning—so much simpler! :)    EDIT  December 11, 2019     I shall never ever understand Google's algorithms and how they produce their statistics. In the end, for the sake of clarity, the number of results have been substituted and updated with the number of pages each search produced.
55551
Can I use &quot;less&quot; in sentences like this:  1 Why do we have so less number of students for this class? 2 My song collection is very less.  &quot;Small&quot; sounds better in both examples, but I would like to know if using &quot;less&quot; in these sentences is correct?
46001
I feel uncomfortable saying sentences like the following:    "I've a car" instead of "I have a car" "They've a great time" instead of "They have a great time" "He's a pen" instead of "He has a pen" etc   I ask this because I read this sort of thing in a book.  Are they correct? And what is the rule? Can you use such forms in a formal setting?
114691
Its a simple ask as it doesn't appear to be wrong while using it in emails etc.  I didn't had breakfast or i didnt have breakfast.  Which one of above is better in grammatical manner.
2260
Most of the time, I use good and well interchangeably. However, on many occasions I would find well or good a misfit. Please suggest the proper usage.
61246
Are those two words equivalent or is there a difference? When would I say something is easy rather than simple, or vice versa?
69781
Consider the following sentence:     The labour-intensive and time-intensive part starts tomorrow.   I want to write this without rewriting the word "intensive."  Is this the correct way to do it?     The labour- and time-intensive part starts tomorrow.   Note the hyphen hanging after the word labour. Or should there be no hyphen after labour? Can anyone point me to a reference that talks about this?
25254
Is "more easy" a correct grammatical way of saying "easier"? What other ways can you express the word "easier"?
46009
Is it correct to say e.g. "I like your way of wearing" or "the way you wear looks perfect"?  Is it politely? Is it in use or not? May I use "the way you wear" referring to whole wearings including dress, scarf, hat, bracelet. jewellery, etc?  Thank you for your suggestions in advance.
61278
I have heard several sentences in which there was a prominent double negative, but the double negative "sounded right".  Is this ever true, or is it just a misleading feeling?  Edited to include an example:  "Did you enjoy the movie?"  "Well, I didn't not enjoy it, but..."  I suppose that may just be bad grammar, but sometimes it seems to be the quickest way to say it.
106213
In the following example, I have one wife, one daughter and one son.  (1) My wife, Angie; my son, Mike; and my daughter, Danielle, will be at the picnic.  I think the semicolons are very technically correct, but they are an eyesore.  Other possibilities:  (2) My wife, Angie, my son, Mike and my daughter, Danielle, will be at the picnic.  (3) My wife Angie, my son Mike, and my daughter Danielle will be at the picnic.  Which is preferred -- 1, 2 or 3 above?
4567
I heard using 'could' is for politeness. When I request something, should I say "Can you please" or "Could you please"? Does the latter sound over-polite and pretentious?
34211
This is a follow up to this question:   "Quicker" is an adverb, as are "more" (in this context) and "quickly".  So is there a difference besides preference between these?
121614
Which one is correct or are both correct?     The boy's name is nice.   The name of the boy is nice.     I'm really confused these two sentences?  Which one is more suitable?
22245
Let’s suppose someone is behaving in a very impolite and perhaps rude way with you and you dislike his manners toward yourself. In such a condition, do the following sentences mean the same and can they be used under these circumstances?      Don’t seem too forward.    Don’t seem overly friendly.   I wonder if you clarify the meaning of each one.
108694
Is this sentence actually grammatical?     You know your having a rough day when kittens don't even make you smile.   The writer of this sentence may intend to mean you're instead of your but I'm just wondering if having a gerund preceded by a genitive is considered grammatical in this case.  If the sentence above is ungrammatical, why is this sentence grammatical?      He resents your being more popular than he is.   What's the difference between these two sentence that determines one to be grammatical and the other to be not?  This is how I analyze the two sentences and I can't see the difference:   "You know it when kittens don't even make you smile" for "it" = "your having a rough day" "He resents it" for "it" = "your being more popular than he is"
67016
I desire he visit us more often.     This is correct, right?     I hope he visit us more often.     Why is this incorrect? Why should I use “visits” instead?