calmer or more calm

[Liza]

Dear All,

Could anyone tell me which is correct?

calmer OR more calm

To tell the truth I've already seen both ways, but if I think of my studies I just don't understand why 'more calm' is also possible. It consists of just syllable, and I was taught that one syllable adjectives are formed with 'er (or -r) in the comparative.

Thank you for your reply.

[Yankee]

Hi Liza

Basically, it is never wrong to use 'more + adjective'. It is simply far more typical to form the comparative of one-syllable adjectives by adding -er to the end of the word.

I'd say that 'calmer' would be the more usual form by far. However, it depends a bit on the sentence construction. For example, if you want to use 'calm' and another one or two adjectives together, and both/all should be comparative, it makes sense to simply use 'more' like this:

"He was more cool, calm and collected than I was after the robbery."

The sentence above is grammatically correct. The expression "cool, calm and collected" is also a fixed expression, so it tends to sound a bit awkward if you change the forms of the words:

"He was cooler, calmer and more collected than I was after the robbery." =>Although this sentence is also grammatically correct, it sounds more awkward to me than the first version.

In addition, if a one-syllable adjective is a word that isn't often used comparatively, I'd say that people sometimes use more rather than the -er ending for the simple reason that the particular adjective sounds unusual with an -er ending. You will sometimes find this noted in dictionaries.

I think we have discussed this topic at least once already. Have you tried the forum's search function?
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English