# Adjetivos Comparativos



## Sarah Orozco

Hola!
Bien, se supone que los adjetivos "cortos" forman su comparativo con la terminación _-er_, p. e. _clean_, _cleaner_, como en "_the dress is cleaner than the skirt_."
¿Qué ocurre con "_fun_" como adjetivo? Entiendo que debo decir, p. e. "_baseball is more fun than soccer_." ¿Es correcto? ¿O hay otra manera más apropiada de formar esa oración?
Espero leer algo al respecto.
Saludos a todos y que estén bien.


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## Carlos Martínez Riera

Sarah Orozco said:
			
		

> Hola!
> Bien, se supone que los adjetivos "cortos" forman su comparativo con la terminación _-er_, p. e. _clean_, _cleaner_, como en "_the dress is cleaner than the skirt_."
> ¿Qué ocurre con "_fun_" como adjetivo? Entiendo que debo decir, p. e. "_baseball is more fun than soccer_." ¿Es correcto? ¿O hay otra manera más apropiada de formar esa oración?
> Espero leer algo al respecto.
> Saludos a todos y que estén bien.


 
fun ---> funnier

Carlos


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## gotitadeleche

Fun-->more fun-->most fun is the correct way to form the comparatives of fun (divertido). Funnier comes from funny (gracioso). Funny-->funnier-->funniest.


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## lauranazario

Transfiero esta consulta sobre adjetivos al foro de Gramática.

Saludos,
LN


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## ~PiCHi~

Sarah Orozco said:
			
		

> Hola!
> Bien, se supone que los adjetivos "cortos" forman su comparativo con la terminación _-er_, p. e. _clean_, _cleaner_, como en "_the dress is cleaner than the skirt_."
> ¿Qué ocurre con "_fun_" como adjetivo? Entiendo que debo decir, p. e. "_baseball is more fun than soccer_." ¿Es correcto? ¿O hay otra manera más apropiada de formar esa oración?
> Espero leer algo al respecto.
> Saludos a todos y que estén bien.


 
Según recuerdo, cuando tienes palabras con tres sílabas o más tienes que usar _"more ____ than", _pero como "fun" es monosílaba no aplica a la regla. Me parece que debe ser una excepción...


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## jmx

Pero, ¿ *fun* es nombre o adjetivo ?

But, *fun* is noun or adjective ?


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## gotitadeleche

jmartins said:
			
		

> Pero, ¿ *fun* es nombre o adjetivo ?
> 
> But, *fun* is noun or adjective ?




Both.

We had a lot of fun = noun.

That was a fun party = adjective.

That was the most fun party I have ever been to = adjective.


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## Artrella

Sarah Orozco said:
			
		

> Hola!
> Bien, se supone que los adjetivos "cortos" forman su comparativo con la terminación _-er_, p. e. _clean_, _cleaner_, como en "_the dress is cleaner than the skirt_."
> ¿Qué ocurre con "_fun_" como adjetivo? Entiendo que debo decir, p. e. "_baseball is more fun than soccer_." ¿Es correcto? ¿O hay otra manera más apropiada de formar esa oración?
> Espero leer algo al respecto.
> Saludos a todos y que estén bien.





Hola Sarah!!

En tu primera oración "fun" es un sustantivo, por lo tanto la traducción sería
"El baseball es más diversión que el fútbol"

Si vos querés decir que es "más divertido que" , tienes que usar "funnier than"

But not always "short" adjectives are used in this way.  Por ejemplo "common".
La manera correcta de decirlo es "commoner than" pero es más frecuente decir "more common" and "most common".

Espero que esto te ayude.  SAludos, Nil


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## gotitadeleche

Artrella said:
			
		

> Hola Sarah!!
> 
> En tu primera oración "fun" es un sustantivo, por lo tanto la traducción sería
> "El baseball es más diversión que el fútbol"
> 
> Si vos querés decir que es "más divertido que" , tienes que usar "funnier than"
> 
> But not always "short" adjectives are used in this way.  Por ejemplo "common".
> La manera correcta de decirlo es "commoner than" pero es más frecuente decir "more common" and "most common".
> 
> Espero que esto te ayude.  SAludos, Nil




Art, in Sarah's first sentence "fun" is a predicate adjective, not a noun. As I explained in my previous post fun = divirtido and funnier comes from funny = gracioso o chistoso. Más divertido que = more fun than


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## Artrella

gotitadeleche said:
			
		

> Art, in Sarah's first sentence "fun" is a predicate adjective, not a noun. As I explained in my previous post fun = divertido and funnier comes from funny = gracioso o chistoso. Más divertido que = more fun than




Sorry Gotita, could you explain this again? I cannot see the difference!!  
What do you mean by "predicate adjective"?  Do you mean and adjective used predicatively and not attributively?
Help!! Please Gotita!!  (_Droplet_ in English, isn't it?)


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## gotitadeleche

Artrella said:
			
		

> Sorry Gotita, could you explain this again? I cannot see the difference!!
> What do you mean by "predicate adjective"?  Do you mean and adjective used predicatively and not attributively?
> Help!! Please Gotita!!  (_Droplet_ in English, isn't it?)



Art, I am leaving right now. I will get back and answer you tomorrow.
Bye
the Droplet


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## Parreño

Funnier *does not* modify "fun", it modifies "funny", which is a completely different concept.   

Fun---> more fun ----> most fun .... here "fun" means "divertido". 

Funny ----> funnier ----> funniest ..."funny" means "cómico/gracioso". 

My cousin in Spain always says "I had a lot of funny"  or  "Did you have funny?"  to mean "Me divertí mucho" o "¿Te has divertido?"   And I always have to remind him that to an English speaker "It was funny" means "Era gracioso" and not "era divertido".


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## charmedboi82

La frase "_baseball is more fun than soccer_.", si, es correcto. Asi se forman las frases con 'fun'. No tengo ningun problema con 'is funner than' pero mucha gente si. Lo que pasa es que a veces no es posible averiguar cual sea (?), adjetivo o sustantivo. Por supuesto, como la escribiste es la manera mas aceptada y es bien formal ('funner' seria la opcion menos aceptada y menos formal).

Recomiendo que hagas una busqueda en Google, hay un articulo en el sitio de random house que explica lo que pasa con 'fun'.  Disculpame por no anadir un enlace al sitio pero no deja que lo haga (colocar un enlace en mi mensaje)).

Si ese enlace no satiface tu curiosidad, que hagas una busqueda en Google para cuanto (hay mucho) se ha escrito acerca del asunto.

Por favor, corrigeme los errores salvo los que tratan de falta de acentos escritos asi que nunca me ha costado saber donde se ponen.


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## gotitadeleche

Art, here is some information about predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives.

*Lesson 153 - Parts of the Sentence - Adjectives*
ADJECTIVES modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify except for the *predicate adjective * which comes after a linking verb and modifies the subject.

Examples of a predicate adjective: The big bear is *brown*. The brown bear was *big*. Brown and big come after the linking verbs _is _ and _was_ and modify the subject bear.


The Grammar Book presents it a little differently. It puts both *predicate adjectives * and *predicate nominatives * under the term *subject complements*:

The linking verb is followed by another type of helping element, the *subject complement*. Subject complements rename or describe the subjects of sentences. In other words, they complement the subjects.

Many of these complements are NOUNS, pronouns, or other nominals that rename or provide additional information about the subject of the sentence. They always follow linking verbs. A less contemporary term for a noun, pronoun, or other nominal used as a subject complement is *predicative nominative*.

	He is the *boss*.	
	Nancy is the *winner*.
	This is *she*.
	My friends are *they*.

In the first and second example, the *subject  complements * boss and winner explain the subjects he and Nancy. It tells what they are. In the third and fourth examples she and they rename the subjects and identify who they are.

Other *subject complements * are ADJECTIVES that modify the subjects of sentences. They follow linking verbs. A less contemporary term for an adjective used as a subject complement is *predicate adjective*.

	My coworkers are *friendly.*
	This story is *exciting*.

In the first example, the *subject complement * friendly modifies the subject coworkers. In the second example, the subject complement exciting modifies the subject story.


Descriptive adjectives are divided into two groups depending on how they are connected to the noun they modify.

A *predicate adjective * is connected to the noun it describes, always the subject of the sentence, by linking verbs such as _to be_, _to feel_, _to look, to smell_.

            The house looks *small*.

An *attributive adjective * is connected directly to the noun it describes and always precedes it.

	The *good * children were praised.
	The family lives in a *small * house.

Art, the main thing I want you to understand is the difference between fun and funny.  Fun = divertido (more fun, most fun). Funny = gracioso, cómico (funnier, funniest). 
El baseball es más divertido que el fútbol.

I hope that cleared up your questions and did not confuse you more. Really, your English is excellent, I wish my Spanish were as good as your English.


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## Artrella

gotitadeleche said:
			
		

> Art, here is some information about predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives.
> 
> *Lesson 153 - Parts of the Sentence - Adjectives*
> ADJECTIVES modify or affect the meaning of nouns and pronouns and tell us which, whose, what kind, and how many about the nouns or pronouns they modify. They come before the noun or pronoun they modify except for the *predicate adjective * which comes after a linking verb and modifies the subject.
> 
> Examples of a predicate adjective: The big bear is *brown*. The brown bear was *big*. Brown and big come after the linking verbs _is _ and _was_ and modify the subject bear.
> 
> 
> The Grammar Book presents it a little differently. It puts both *predicate adjectives * and *predicate nominatives * under the term *subject complements*:  >>> yes, we call it predicative or subject complement because you can ellide the linking verb and the sentence is still meaningful.
> 
> The linking verb is followed by another type of helping element, the *subject complement*. Subject complements rename or describe the subjects of sentences. In other words, they complement the subjects.
> 
> Many of these complements are NOUNS, pronouns, or other nominals that rename or provide additional information about the subject of the sentence. They always follow linking verbs. A less contemporary term for a noun, pronoun, or other nominal used as a subject complement is *predicative nominative*.
> 
> He is the *boss*.
> Nancy is the *winner*.
> This is *she*.
> My friends are *they*.
> 
> In the first and second example, the *subject  complements * boss and winner explain the subjects he and Nancy. It tells what they are. In the third and fourth examples she and they rename the subjects and identify who they are.
> 
> Other *subject complements * are ADJECTIVES that modify the subjects of sentences. They follow linking verbs. A less contemporary term for an adjective used as a subject complement is *predicate adjective*.
> 
> My coworkers are *friendly.*
> This story is *exciting*.
> 
> In the first example, the *subject complement * friendly modifies the subject coworkers. In the second example, the subject complement exciting modifies the subject story.
> 
> 
> Descriptive adjectives are divided into two groups depending on how they are connected to the noun they modify.
> 
> A *predicate adjective * is connected to the noun it describes, always the subject of the sentence, by linking verbs such as _to be_, _to feel_, _to look, to smell_.
> 
> The house looks *small*.
> 
> An *attributive adjective * is connected directly to the noun it describes and always precedes it.
> 
> The *good * children were praised.
> The family lives in a *small * house.
> 
> Art, the main thing I want you to understand is the difference between fun and funny.  Fun = divertido (more fun, most fun). Funny = gracioso, cómico (funnier, funniest).
> El baseball es más divertido que el fútbol.
> 
> I hope that cleared up your questions and did not confuse you more. Really, your English is excellent, I wish my Spanish were as good as your English.




Ahora sí Droplet  !!! El problema fue que yo entendía que *fun* era *diversión* y no "divertido".  Entonces cómo se dice "diversión"??

Lo de los predicativos, y el uso de los adjetivos en forma predicativa y atributiva lo tengo claro, y vos me lo confirmás con esta explicación tan completa y clara.
Si podés mandame por PM el nombre del libro donde está todo esto, sí?

UN millón de gracias Gotita!!! Me encanta la gramática, de cualquier idioma!!


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## charmedboi82

Fun = diversion
fun = divertido
funny = divertido, etc.

Lo que pasa es que 'fun' puede funcionar como adjetivo Y como sustantivo (aunque su papel tradicional es el de sustantivo), entonces no esta claro si es sustantivo o adjetivo a veces.  Es una palabra que 'esta en cambio'.

That was so much fun.  (En esta oracion, funciona como sustantivo, lo sabes por 'much', lo que no puede preceder un adjetivo)

That was a fun game.  (En esta, funciona como adjetivo porque modifica el sustantivo 'game')

That was fun.  (En esta, no esta tan claro.  Cual sera?  No se sabe ni se puede saber porque no hay ninguna pista como en las oraciones anteriores.  Entonces, "Fue una diversion" o "Estuvo divertido"?  Parece que depende un poco del contexto y de quien habla (lo que se quiere que signifique) pero no se puede decir cual sea.

Yo diria que mucha gente ve 'fun' como adjetivo asi que 'funner' se puede decir y que se usa mucho en frente de sustantivos.  Por el colmo, tambien he oido 'estuvo fun', para los que la usan asi, les tiene que ser adjetivo.

Espero que me entiendas, .


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## Artrella

charmedboi82 said:
			
		

> Fun = diversion
> fun = divertido
> funny = divertido, etc.
> 
> Lo que pasa es que 'fun' puede funcionar como adjetivo Y como sustantivo (aunque su papel tradicional es el de sustantivo), entonces no esta claro si es sustantivo o adjetivo a veces.  Es una palabra que 'esta en cambio'.
> 
> That was so much fun.  (En esta oracion, funciona como sustantivo, lo sabes por 'much', lo que no puede preceder un adjetivo)
> 
> That was a fun game.  (En esta, funciona como adjetivo porque modifica el sustantivo 'game')
> 
> That was fun.  (En esta, no esta tan claro.  Cual sera?  No se sabe ni se puede saber porque no hay ninguna pista como en las oraciones anteriores.  Entonces, "Fue una diversion" o "Estuvo divertido"?  Parece que depende un poco del contexto y de quien habla (lo que se quiere que signifique) pero no se puede decir cual sea.
> 
> Yo diria que mucha gente ve 'fun' como adjetivo asi que 'funner' se puede decir y que se usa mucho en frente de sustantivos.  Por el colmo, tambien he oido 'estuvo fun', para los que la usan asi, les tiene que ser adjetivo.
> 
> Espero que me entiendas, .





Gracias Charmedboi, si entiendo y tu explicación es muy buena.  Entonces en esta oración (la original, que dio origen a este hilo)* "baseball is more fun than soccer." * >>> podría traducirse como "El baseball es más diversión que el fútbol" ???  Igual no sé si en español esto se pueda decir así.

Bexitos!


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## gotitadeleche

Artrella said:
			
		

> Gracias Charmedboi, si entiendo y tu explicación es muy buena.  Entonces en esta oración (la original, que dio origen a este hilo)* "baseball is more fun than soccer." * >>> podría traducirse como "El baseball es más diversión que el fútbol" ???  Igual no sé si en español esto se pueda decir así.
> 
> Bexitos!



I don't think so Art. In this case "fun" is acting as an adjective. You can tell because of the "more" fun, and it is modifying baseball. "El baseball es más divertido que el fútbol" sería la forma correcta de decirlo.

¡Qué lío es esa palabra!


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## Artrella

gotitadeleche said:
			
		

> I don't think so Art. In this case "fun" is acting as an adjective. You can tell because of the "more" fun, and it is modifying baseball. "El baseball es más divertido que el fútbol" sería la forma correcta de decirlo.
> 
> ¡Qué lío es esa palabra!





Yes, Gotix, I thought of that but wanted to be sure whether it was wrong or not.  Now you've answered to my question.


Muchas gracias, Gotita!!!


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## jacinta

charmedboi82 said:
			
		

> Yo diria que mucha gente ve 'fun' como adjetivo asi que *'funner' * se puede decir y que se usa mucho en frente de sustantivos.
> 
> Espero que me entiendas, .



Quisiera corregir esta palabra que escribió charmedboi82 para los que están aprendiendo el inglés.  En serio, funner es incorrecto aunque se oye decir.  Las formas de fun en comparativos son:
fun
more fun (It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys)
most fun (It was the most fun I've ever had)

It was fun.  Es un adjectivo, no sustantivo, porque describe *It*.  
I had a lot of fun.  Sí es un sustantivo aquí.


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## charmedboi82

No es que sean incorrectas... No hay ninguna regla que diga que son incorrectas 'funner' y 'funnest'. Lo que pasa es que '-er' y '-est' son los sufijos para formar el comparativo y el superlativo (no se como se dicen por cien por ciento en espanol) asi que la gente las usan asi pero 'fun' tradicionalmente ha sido un sustantivo. Entonces, suenan mal 'funner' y 'funnest' aunque no son incorrectas.

Hay (al menos) dos maneras de ver la situation:
1)  Si es posible que 'fun' sea un adjetivo, estan bien 'funner' y 'funnest'.

2) Si no es muy posible que 'fun' sea un adjetivo (y que si sigue en su papel tradicional como sustantivo), no estan bien 'funner' y funnest' y se tienen que usar 'more fun' y 'the most fun'.

En conclusion, a algunos les suenan mal y a otros no.  No son incorrectos pero son mas de estilo informal

De un sitio web:
You will certainly find "funner" and "funnest" in the dictionaries nowadays, primarily because today's fun-loving youngsters are in need of comparatives and superlatives for "fun" and use these words all the time. The adjectival use of "fun" is accepted rather widely: "This is a fun thing to do," but the use of the "-er" and "-est" forms grate on the ears of anyone over thirty. "To traditionalists," according to Garner, "the adjectival _fun_ and its comparative forms remain blemishes in both writing and speech."  

From _Garner's Modern American Usage_by Bryan Garner. Copyright 2003 by Bryan A. Garner. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., and used with the gracious consent of Oxford University Press.
---
Para mi, creo que es bien hipocrita la gente que dice que 'funner' y 'funnest' no son correctas aunque las usan de manera adjetiva.


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## EdD

Espero no sea un poco tarde para responder y espero esto te ayude:

Utiliza "er" cuando la palabra sea corta, por ejemplo short-shorter.
Cuando sea una palabra de 3 letras le agregas "er" pero la ultima letra la debes de repetir fun-funnier, hot-hottest.
Cuando tiene dos o mas sílabas se añande la palabra "more". more important, more intelligent. 

Cualquier error porfavor corriganme


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## mjscott

Arte-
Hey! Howzit goin' gal?
A predicate adjective is an adjective that is after the predicate--or is part of the predicate.
"Baseball is more fun than soccer."

"more fun" modifies baseball. It is an adjective that modifies baseball that is in the predicate.

If it were diagrammed (is anyone old enough to remember diagramming sentences?) it would look something like this--

Baseball |is\fun . 
....................\more \_than_ soccer

(than should be on a slant)

I hope this helps--and gotitadeleche is correct--when it is an adjective, it is
fun
more fun
most fun

Don't know why--that's the joys of English!

PS-the periods (punto s) are only added to maintain spaces that did not show up. (Both _more_ and _than_ should modify _fun._

PPS--the line under _fun_ should be longer--so that _than soccer_ is also under it--it is not happening with this post, but I'm not going to complain.... I've lived too long and remember carbon copies, dittos, and mimeograph machines, and using a razor blade to make an erroneous "e" into an "a."


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## jacinta

charmedboi82 said:
			
		

> No es que sean incorrectas... No hay ninguna regla que diga que son incorrectas 'funner' y 'funnest'. Lo que pasa es que '-er' y '-est' son los sufijos para formar el comparativo y el superlativo (no se como se dicen por cien por ciento en espanol) asi que la gente las usan asi pero 'fun' tradicionalmente ha sido un sustantivo. Entonces, suenan mal 'funner' y 'funnest' aunque no son incorrectas.
> 
> Hay (al menos) dos maneras de ver la situation:
> 1)  Si es posible que 'fun' sea un adjetivo, estan bien 'funner' y 'funnest'.
> 
> 2) Si no es muy posible que 'fun' sea un adjetivo (y que si sigue en su papel tradicional como sustantivo), no estan bien 'funner' y funnest' y se tienen que usar 'more fun' y 'the most fun'.
> 
> En conclusion, a algunos les suenan mal y a otros no.  No son incorrectos pero son mas de estilo informal
> 
> De un sitio web:
> You will certainly find "funner" and "funnest" in the dictionaries nowadays, primarily because today's fun-loving youngsters are in need of comparatives and superlatives for "fun" and use these words all the time. The adjectival use of "fun" is accepted rather widely: "This is a fun thing to do," but the use of the "-er" and "-est" forms grate on the ears of anyone over thirty. "To traditionalists," according to Garner, "the adjectival _fun_ and its comparative forms remain blemishes in both writing and speech."
> 
> From _Garner's Modern American Usage_by Bryan Garner. Copyright 2003 by Bryan A. Garner. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., and used with the gracious consent of Oxford University Press.
> ---
> Para mi, creo que es bien hipocrita la gente que dice que 'funner' y 'funnest' no son correctas aunque las usan de manera adjetiva.



 Well, call me a traditionalist, I don't mind at all.  As soon as they put funner and funnest in my American Heritage or the Oxford Dictionary, I will accept them as real words.  Am I to bow down to the laziness of youth to accept a wrong word?


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## charmedboi82

The laziness of youth? It really isn't just youth that creates these expressions. It's actually more lazy to not change, to stay in the same stagnant state. Languages evolve. I'm sure you're a fan of many authors for their creative works. This ingenuity is nothing short of that.

As the quote states, if you're using 'fun' in an adjectival way, you're part of the blemish.

There's nothing wrong with being a traditionalist.  I personally feel as though I am.  I feel like this is one way of keeping continuity in the language.


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## Artrella

mjscott said:
			
		

> Arte-
> Hey! Howzit goin' gal?
> A predicate adjective is an adjective that is after the predicate--or is part of the predicate.
> "Baseball is more fun than soccer."
> 
> "more fun" modifies baseball. It is an adjective that modifies baseball that is in the predicate.
> 
> If it were diagrammed (is anyone old enough to remember diagramming sentences?) it would look something like this--
> 
> Baseball |is\fun .
> ....................\more \_than_ soccer
> 
> (than should be on a slant)
> 
> I hope this helps--and gotitadeleche is correct--when it is an adjective, it is
> fun
> more fun
> most fun
> 
> Don't know why--that's the joys of English!
> 
> PS-the periods (punto s) are only added to maintain spaces that did not show up. (Both _more_ and _than_ should modify _fun._
> 
> PPS--the line under _fun_ should be longer--so that _than soccer_ is also under it--it is not happening with this post, but I'm not going to complain.... I've lived too long and remember carbon copies, dittos, and mimeograph machines, and using a razor blade to make an erroneous "e" into an "a."





MJ!!! What a beauuutiful explanation and diagram!!! TEACHER!!! Razor blades and mimoegraph machines....uuuhhhh....thanks my friend!!!


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