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Mary is _____ taller than me.

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers,

Would all the sentences sound natural? Would they be used interchangeably?
(a) Mary is much taller than me.
(b) Mary is far taller than me.
(c) Mary is still taller than me.
(d) Mary is even taller than me.
(e) Mary is a lot taller than me.
(f) Mary is taller than me by far.

Thanks in adnavce.

Hirashin
 
a) OK
b) OK but perhaps less common
c) Possible but it would be a very specific situation.
For example, the speaker is a 12 year old boy complaining that his 15 year old sister is still taller than him.
d) OK only if the speaker is also very tall.
e) OK
f) Grammatically OK but sounds unnatural.
 
Thanks for the help, Lothor.
I have a further question as to (c). Does that "still" means the same as in "He is well over twenty, but he's still dependent on his parents"?
 
Would all the sentences sound natural? Would they be used interchangeably?
(a) Mary is much taller than me.
(b) Mary is far taller than me.
(c) Mary is still taller than me.
(d) Mary is even taller than me.
(e) Mary is a lot taller than me.
(f) Mary is taller than me by far.
They all sound ok to me. Even (f) sounds ok to me.
They are pretty much interchangeable except for (c) because with this one you can't tell if it's a lot or a little. Also it implies that something is changing and that Mary may or may not be taller than him/her in the future.
 
Thanks for the help, Lothor.
I have a further question as to (c). Does that "still" means the same as in "He is well over twenty, but he's still dependent on his parents"?

Yes it does. I then remembered that 'still' is occasionally used for emphasis like 'even' (which is probably why you suggested the sentence) but it's not common (meaning number 13 on one of the lists in this link)
Still - definition of still by The Free Dictionary
I certainly wouldn't mention it to high school students and would only mention it briefly if it came up in an advanced-level class.
 
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