Booher's Rules of Business Grammar - Dianna Booher 2009

As much or more than most
Miscellaneous matters

PREPACKAGED COMPARISONS

Some comparisons come prepackaged at conception. The following list contains a few that probably roll off your tongue without much thought. Add a noun at the beginning and end of the comparison, and you have them wrapped up and ready to go—but a little jagged and ragged around the edges.

To see why each of these comparisons is “unequal” or incomplete, remove half the comparison and you’ll notice the gap in logic.

One of the best: “Bruno is one of the best, if not the best, criminal lawyer in the state.” Remove “if not the best” because that represents the second part of the comparison. Read what’s left: “Bruno is one of the best criminal lawyer in the state.” The writer is comparing Bruno to a group, but the group has been removed! Reword: “Bruno is one of the best criminal lawyers in the state, if not the best.”

As bad or worse than: “The traffic in Houston is as bad or worse than in Chicago.” Remove the second half of the comparison (“or worse than”), and you’ll see what’s missing here: “The traffic in Houston is as bad in Chicago.” Reword: “The traffic in Houston is as bad as in Chicago, or worse.”

As good or better than: “Brunhilda is as good or better than most managers about giving feedback.” This is the same problem as with as bad or worse than. Reword: “Brunhilda is as good as most managers about giving feedback, or better.”

As much or more than: “Eldora likes that country as much or more than most places where she does business.” Again, the same issues surface. Remove the second part of the comparison (“or more than”) to see what’s incomplete: “Eldora likes that country as much most places where she does business.” Reword: “Eldora likes that country as much as or more than any place where she does business.”

When you’re comparing two things, both ideas have to be complete.

Memory tip

A comparison requires two groups or things—no shortcuts.