general grammar

Hi guys

1. If I want a pupil to underline the correct answer to the following question, which is the correct sentence I should use?

He is (clever, cleverer, cleverest) than Peter.

Underline the correct answer in the brackets.

Underline the correct answer in brackets.

2. If someone asks me "Who is it?", should I answer "It's I" or "It's me".

3. It is common to hear people say "If I were you..." But would it be "If you were I..." or "If you were me..."?

Yes, "What would you do in my place", or "if you were in my shoes"

<Underline the correct answer in brackets. This sounds like contradictory instructions - do you want it underlined or in brackets?>

I agree. You could say "Which is the correct answer. Underline one of the words in brackets" though.

Yoong Liat wrote:

Hi Barbara He is (clever, cleverer, cleverest) than Peter. (By the way, I'd say "more clever.") I was taught 'clever, cleverer and cleverest'. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary states 'more clever and most clever' is an alternative.

I don’t remember where I learned this rule from since it’s been so long ago. The general rule that I learned was that if a simple adjective is less than two syllables, or less than five letters, use the “er” form for comparative, i.e. “fat”, “thin”, “happy”, “hungry” and so on. However, it does not always work that way. “Clever” is a good example. It’s not wrong to say “cleverer” but we will hear most people say “more” clever rather than “cleverer”. We will find discrepancies in English where the grammar book rules may not apply. It’s confusing to learners and the only way to get it right is by increasing exposures audibly and visually so that our ears and eyes are trained by repetition  such that we are able to distinguish the proper from improper English. That’s my opinion.