Would you proofread them?

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers,

Would you proofread the following sentences?
Would all of them be commonly used?

1a. Nothing can travel faster than light.
1b. Nothing can go faster than light.

2a. The more I eat this, the more I like it.
2b. The more I eat this, the better I like it.

3a. The older we grow, the weaker our memory becomes.
3b. The older we grow, the weaker our memory gets.

4a. He bought the third most expensive car in the shop.
4b. He bought the third most expensive car at the shop.

5a. This is bigger than any other bike in the shop.
5b. This is larger than any other bike in the shop.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[MitsuKasuka]

I would say, that for all points, (a) is the better sentence.

In 1(b) the word 'go' doesn't seem to fit well in this sentence, light is commonly said to 'travel' as said in the first sentence

For 4(a) and 4(b) both sentences are fine, however it is more common to say that something is 'in' a shop rather than 'at' it. The word 'at' in the second sentence suggests to me that he simply bought the third most expensive car in general, not necessarily the third most expensive car from that shop. The word 'in' suggests that it is the third most expensive car in that shop itself, rather than in general.

5(a) and 5(b) are very similar and both can equally be used, I personally feel that 'bigger' is more commonly used than 'larger' meaning (a) would more likely apply.

I hope this helps

 

[ClarkH]

1a. Perfect.
1b. This is fine, but usually when people talk about the speed of light, they speak about how fast it "travels" instead of how fast it "goes".

2a. Perfect.
2b. People say use "better" like this frequently. I'm not sure if it's correct. I suspect it isn't, but it still sounds very natural anyway. I'd always use 2a, though.

3a. Perfect.
3b. Many people will say it this way. In this case, I suspect it is grammatically correct, but I think it sounds sloppy to end a sentence with "gets". I'd always use 3a. I think it's sloppy to use the word "gets" in general, even in the middle of a sentence. It almost sounds low class. For example:

"Could you please get me a cup of water?" I think it sounds nicer to say, "could you please bring me a cup of water?"

"I can't wait to get a college degree." I think it sounds nicer to say, "I can't wait to earn my college degree."

In some cases, "get" is appropriate, but I think there are usually better words, and when there are, I use those alternate words instead.

4a. Perfect.
4b. This is fine too. Very common and casual. I'd still always use 4a, but 4b is extremely close.

5a/b. Perfect, interchangeable.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for your help, Mitsu and Clark. I appreciate it.

Hirashin

 

[Half-n-Half]

In 1b, the subject is not light but something else; some object that can not go faster than light. So in this case I think it sounds perfectly natural to use "go", since objects often "go".

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for help, Half-n-half さん。I appreciate it.

Hirashin

 

[Lestat84]

1.A. Would be more correct. B is a more colloquial way to say it but is less correct.
2. A sounds better, b is correct though with a more formal sound to it.
3. A is better in all respects.
4.A Is better, b is acceptable. The preposition "in" In A works better in that situation.
5. B is most correct and sounds better. Larger works better than bigger.

 

[hirashin]

Thank you for your help, Lesta84 san.

5. B is most correct and sounds better. Larger works better than bigger.

I have a further question. In what case should we use "big" ?

Hirashin

 

[Lestat84]

Bigger is grammatically correct there, however larger sounds better. Big and large are almost universally interchangeable so it is at your discretion.

 

[Mike Cash]

Bigger is grammatically correct there, however larger sounds better. Big and large are almost universally interchangeable so it is at your discretion.

As English is taught in Japan, "large" applies to two-dimensional things such as fields or lakes while "big" applies to three-dimensional things....such as bicycles.

 

[Lestat84]

Oh that was my mistake. I mixed up what the objects were.

 

[Mike Cash]

Oh that was my mistake. I mixed up what the objects were.

Not your mistake at all. I was referring to an entirely artificial distinction dreamed up by Japan's education ministry and which no native speaker would make. Otherwise how could you ever order a large Coke from McDonalds?

 

[Lestat84]

I don't drink coke and don't eat at McDonald's.... That aside large still sounds better to my ear as a native speaker.

 

[ewww]

I don't drink coke and don't eat at McDonald's.... That aside large still sounds better to my ear as a native speaker.

You should use "greater" for one-dimentional things.

 

[Mike Cash]

You should use "greater" for one-dimentional things.

Please give examples.

 

[Lestat84]

Greater I hear most often like a greater amount of something. I think greater refers to quantity most often. You could say something is greater in size, weight, quantity etc.

 

[ewww]

He-he, look on numeric line, each value on the right is greater than one on the left.
Look on one dimensional man model, core of indistrial society, each next generation is greater than previous.
Practical work: line up 100 shots of sake and consume it slowly one by one ... increasing feeling of greatness will overhelm You.

BTW, I'd say it was lame joke: afer introducing number of dimensions as formal feature for differentiation in grammar, we could suppose that we should use 'higher' for comparision of all objects with number of dimensions greater than three ... Example? Higher dimension.

 

[undrentide]

I'm not a native speaker of English, but would like to post some explanation from LDOCE about the usage of 'big' and 'large' (and 'great'), which might be interesting for OP.

big, large, great
big and large have the same meaning, but large is slightly more formal and more likely to be used in written than spoken English
• a big lunch
• a large house

large is used with quantity words such as 'number' and 'amount'
• large amounts of money
• a large proportion of the students

great is not usually used to talk about size but it can be used in literary writing to describe very large and impressive things
• Before them stood a great palace.

great is used with length, height, and age, and in the expression a great deal (=a lot)
• The grass had reached a great height.
• a great deal of money

big - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
*See the WORD CHOICE at the very bottom of the page.

 

[ewww]

undrentide, I would not trust "Dictionary of Contemporary English", which doesn not have words "fifo", "lifo", "spork" and "lafter"
Just 2C

 

[undrentide]

@ewww
Whether trusting Longman online dictionary or not is just up to you.

But I do not think it is adequate to judge if a dictionary is trustworthy or not by the words you listed (spork, lafter, fifo, lifo).
Merriam Webster do not have the first two words either, and the last two appear to be abbreviation and should be written in capitals.
I believe that in this thread we are talking about very basic words (big - used since 14th century, large/great - since 12th century) of English language, they have nothing to do with new words (?) which are not even listed in standard dictionaries.

 

[Lestat84]

undrentide, I would not trust "Dictionary of Contemporary English", which doesn not have words "fifo", "lifo", "spork" and "lafter"
Just 2C

You used a double negative -_- fail.

 

[hirashin]

undrentide, I would not trust "Dictionary of Contemporary English", which doesn not have words "fifo", "lifo", "spork" and "lafter"
Just 2C

Hi, ewww. I think Longman's Dictionary of Contemporary English is for intemediate English learners.
That's why it does not cover the words you mentioned.

It's a good dictionary that English learners can trust.

Hirashin

 

[ewww]

undrentide, sorry for my annoyance, I see there small missunderstanding. I just try to tell that You cited dictionary to generalize usage of words 'big' and 'large', but in real life, usage of these words is very different from speaker location and it's social niche. I did hear both words used by native english speakers for the same context and for the same things in different places of states. It is like 'soda' and 'cola' - more to south and to west - more 'cola'. About fifo and lifo ... these are so old words, that they even not an abbreviations anymore, I heard these from arbitrary people, who even don't know their real meaning

Dictionaries, like Longman could contain some very lifeless forms, like that one 'large two dimentional field', which could be correct in some cases. That is payment for being universal.

hirashin, thanks. You are right

 

[undrentide]

Dictionaries, like Longman could contain some very lifeless forms, like that one 'large two dimentional field', which could be correct in some cases. That is payment for being universal.

Where do you quote the 'lifeless forms'? 'Large two dimentional field' for instance, where do you find it??
And "dimentional"???

Dictionaries cannot cover all the minor difference, local usages and colloquial words and phrases, but that does not mean the basic idea/definition they give is incorrect or unreliable.

About the two sentences hirashin posted

5a. This is bigger than any other bike in the shop.
5b. This is larger than any other bike in the shop.

several members commented:

MitsuKasuka

5(a) and 5(b) are very similar and both can equally be used, I personally feel that 'bigger' is more commonly used than 'larger' meaning (a) would more likely apply.

ClarkH

5a/b. Perfect, interchangeable.

Lestat84

5. B is most correct and sounds better. Larger works better than bigger.
Bigger is grammatically correct there, however larger sounds better. Big and large are almost universally interchangeable so it is at your discretion.
Greater I hear most often like a greater amount of something. I think greater refers to quantity most often. You could say something is greater in size, weight, quantity etc.

They all fit the usage from Longman quite well.

 

[ewww]

Where do you quote the 'lifeless forms'? 'Large two dimentional field' for instance, where do you find it??

I've got that from MC several posts ago.

As English is taught in Japan, "large" applies to two-dimensional things such as fields or lakes while "big" applies to three-dimensional things....such as bicycles.

As I nderstand, that was very sarcastic note, but Lestat84 did not understand that, so I joked about one-dimensional objects.
About lifeless forms ... look at definition You quoted

great is not usually used to talk about size but it can be used in literary writing to describe very large and impressive things
• Before them stood a great palace.
great is used with length, height, and age, and in the expression a great deal (=a lot)
• The grass had reached a great height.

First statement contradicts second, just because length, age and height are subjects of measurement, the same as size, volume and void.

Please, read carefully great example about grass. That example is more about quality characteristic than about quantity characteristic of object GRASS, which is contradict to statement which it should to illustrate. Statement was about quantity characteristic of object GRASS. So, could You call it a good dictionary? OMHO, it is not academic document, but random set of useless unproven facts.

And "dimentional"???

Sorry, I am typig blank keyboard with blind method, and ... I do not have habbit to read what I wrote, just because compiler will reveal all typos

Dictionaries cannot cover all the minor difference

He-he, You are right, but only if You can not see difference between quality and quantity, those are dual cathegories.

Ok, I lost interest to that topic. I want to bring my apologies for everybody who I offended in that thread :?

Piece and prosperity,
ewww....