Chapter LXXIII: Adverbial Clauses of Comparison

=290.= Often we are not satisfied to say, “Cousin John is good.” We wish to tell _how_ good he is, and a common way of doing this is by means of a comparison. We say, “Cousin John is as good as gold.” Here the group of words _as gold_ is a clause with the word _is_ omitted. It is called a clause of =comparison=. It denotes an =equality= between John’s goodness and that of gold. Since this clause answers the question _how good?_ it must modify the adjective _good_.

What is the introductory word of the clause of comparison?

=291.= Sometimes we compare two things and yet denote an =inequality= between them; as in the sentence, “The river is bluer than the sky.” Here the clause of comparison is introduced by the subordinating conjunction _than_. It modifies the word _bluer_. We know this because it is the word _bluer_ that needs the clause, and without the word _bluer_ the clause would not be in the sentence at all.

Notice that a clause of equality modifies an adjective in the positive degree, while a clause of inequality modifies an adjective in the comparative degree.

=292.= A clause of comparison may modify an adverb as well as an adjective, as in these sentences:—

The old man moved as slowly as a cloud.

More swiftly than eagles, his coursers they flew.

NOTE.—The adverb _rather_ is seldom used without being modified
by a clause of comparison; as, “Henry Clay said that he would
rather be right than be president.” When we supply the words
understood, the clause reads, _than he would be president_.

Complete the clauses in the following sentences:—

Some people would rather have money than brains.

I should rather earn a college education than go without it.

A wise American would rather go to Yellowstone Park than to
Switzerland.

=Summary.=—A clause of =comparison= tells the degree of some quality or quantity by pointing out a likeness or a difference.

A clause of comparison pointing out a =likeness= is introduced by _as_, and modifies an adjective or an adverb in the positive degree.

A clause of comparison pointing out a =difference= is introduced by _than_, and modifies an adjective or an adverb in the comparative degree.

A clause of comparison is seldom completely expressed.

=Exercise.=—Select all the clauses of comparison. Tell what they denote, what they modify, and what they are introduced by.

1. Sitting up on the driver’s high seat is almost as good as
climbing the meeting-house steeple.

2.

The muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

3. The loons could dive quicker than the eagle could swoop and
strike.

4. Gertrude was prouder than ever when the president of the
college said, “Your mother is handsomer than you will ever be,
young lady.”

5.

The hearts that were thumping like ships on the rocks
Beat as quiet and steady as meeting-house clocks.

6. Truth is stranger than fiction.

7. I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to
make me sad.

8.

Blue were her eyes as the fairy flax,
Her cheeks like the dawn of day,
Her bosom white as the hawthorn buds,
That ope in the month of May.

9. One syllable of woman’s speech can dissolve more love than a
man’s heart can hold.

10.

I am nearer my home to-day
Than I ever have been before.

11. Whiter than snow were his locks, and his cheeks were as
brown as the oak leaves.

12.

A steed as black as the steeds of night
Was seen to pass as with eagle flight.

13. Weeds are sure to grow quicker in my garden than anywhere
else.

14.

Dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser rolling rapidly.

15. I should rather see the friezes of the Parthenon molder to
dust under the blue veil of the Grecian atmosphere than have
them preserved in the grand halls of the British Museum.

16. The huge body of the elephant needs less sleep than
anything else that lives.

=293.= Since the predicate is usually omitted in clauses of comparison, it follows that these clauses often consist of only two words; as, “I am as old as Mary.” “I am older than Mary.” One of these words is the connective, and the other is often the subject of the clause. When the subject is a pronoun, we must be careful to use the nominative form. We should say, “Are you older than _I_? than _he_? than _she_?”

=Exercise 1.=—Fill the blank in each of these sentences. Then supply the words omitted, and thus show that you have chosen the right pronouns:—

1. Our parents are wiser than (_we_ or _us_).

2. You are not always so careful as (_she_ or _her_).

3. Who knows the day better than (_me_ or _I_)?

4. What! You are stronger than (_who_ or _whom_)?

5. The Preston girls were just as friendly as (_me_ or _I_).

6. No man could be more faithful than (_him_ or _he_).

7. Who stands higher in this city than (_they_ or _them_).

8. Are you older or younger than (_her_ or _she_)?

9. Well, perhaps I am not so polite as (_he_ or _him_).

10. Our geese are whiter than (_them_ or _they_).

=Exercise 2.=—Justify the case of the italicized pronoun in each of these sentences:—

1. Jessie likes Julia as well as _me_.

2. I found her brother more easily than _her_.

3. I expect an angel sooner than _them_.