'elder' vs 'older'

[*Delta*]

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #87 "Common English Errors (3)", question 1

......... people like this area a lot.

(a) Elder
(b) Older
(c) The old
(d) More elder

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #87 "Common English Errors (3)", answer 1

Older people like this area a lot.

Correct answer: (b) Older

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hey Alan!

please can you tell me what is the exact different between
elder and older???

like this sentence for instance

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correct sentence:
Older people like this area a lot.

Correct answer: (b) Older

Your answer was: incorrect
your sentence:
Elder people like this area a lot.

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why is it wrong to use elder in this situation ??

[Mister Micawber]

.
Elderly people like this area. The adjective 'elderly' applies in this situation. 'Elder' is primarily a comparative adjective for persons-- my elder brother; my eldest sister.

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

'Usage Note: The adjective 'elder' is not a synonym for 'elderly'. In comparisons between two persons, 'elder' means "older" but not necessarily "old": 'My elder sister is sixteen; my younger, twelve'. ('Eldest' is used when three or more persons are compared: 'He is the eldest of four brothers.') In other contexts, 'elder' does denote relatively advanced age but with the added component of respect for a person's achievement, as in 'an elder statesman'. If age alone is to be expressed, one should use 'older' or 'elderly' rather than 'elder': 'A survey of older Americans; an elderly waiter.' Unlike 'elder' and its related forms, the adjectives 'old', 'older', and 'oldest' are applied to things as well as to persons.'
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Aleaf]

Old people refer to senior people who are old.
But elder people are not necessarily old. He is my elder brother and he is 13/63 years old.(elder emphasises the sequence of the age.)
I think some of the time older and elder are interchangeable. For example
Jack is 10 years old and Marry is 12 years old.
Marry is older/elder than Jack.

Am i right?

Right?
_________________
Try to change youself before you try to change others.

[Mister Micawber]

.

[Jamie (K)]

"Elder" and "older", as comparatives, mean exactly the same thing.

Don't get it confused with "elderly", because that means "old".

Once a man from Europe made a hilarious mistake in front of me. He was very charmed and excited by a young woman he'd met, but he thought she might be a little too young for him. So he said to me, "I wonder if she has an elderly sister!" He meant an "older sister" or an "elder sister", but what he really said was that he wondered if she had a sister who was past retirement age.