Superlatives: misuse of “more”

Another common mistake of placing an adjective or adverb in the superlative degree is using the word “more”. The word “more” implies a comparison between two things. Consider the following sentence:

“The entire track team is fast, but that runner is the more consistent than the rest of the runners.”

Since the sentence is comparing one person to a team of people, then the correct word to use is “most”. Reconsider the sentence:

“The entire track team is fast, but that runner is the most consistent than the rest of the runners.”

The following are some simple do’s and dont’s to remember when using more and most:

Don’t use more or most when the phrasing sounds awkward.

Do use -er/-est with one- and two-syllable words and more/most with words that have three or more syllables.

Don’t use -er and more or -est and most together.

Do use either -er/-est or more/most.