komountain  +  132141 Tue, 30 Aug 05 10:18 AM Hello.   As far as I know, "less" doesn't go with a one-syllable word. less big than......... (incorrect) less tall than......... (incorrect) less far than.......... (incorrect) less old than........... (incorrect) less fast than............ (incorrect) less deep than........... (incorrect)   If I am wrong, I'd love to stand corrected. And if there are exceptions, please let me know. How about 'less fun than.............'? komountain Joined on Mon, Nov 8 2004 Full Member 269

	pieanne  +  132144 Tue, 30 Aug 05 10:28 AM Well, "fun" is not an adjective, it's an uncountable, so it's OK to use it with "less". Yet it is common to replace the "less" construction by "not so/as ... as": "he's not so/as intelligent as his brother", meaning "he's less intelligent than his brother".   pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos... Constructions

	komountain  +  132300 Tue, 30 Aug 05 08:37 PM Hi, pianne. "fun" is also used as an adjective as in "have a fun time." Maybe, it is used only in a restrictive usage in which an adjective requires a noun to be described. komountain Nouns

	pieanne  +  132439 Wed, 31 Aug 05 10:19 AM Yes indeed, it can be an adjective too. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=31689&dict=CALD Do you mean an example like this: "the party was less fun than we expected"?   pieanne

	paco2004  +  132775 Thu, 01 Sep 05 07:23 AM How about less fit than ?   They are built of such huge, square stones, that their appearance of ponderous durability distresses the beholder with the idea that they can never fall,--never crumble away, --never be less fit than now for human habitation. (Nathaniel Hawthorn "The Marble Faun")    He modestly thought himself unfit for the career of adventurer, and judged his father to be less fit than himself. (The Education of Henry Adams) Are they not an adjective but the participle of the verb 'fit'? paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English. Verbs

	komountain  +  132935 Thu, 01 Sep 05 06:47 PM Thank you for your quotes, Paco. In your quotes, 'less' does go with one-sillable adjectives. These examples contradict what I read in a grammar book. The book, if my memory serves me right,  said,  'less big than' is incorrect, noting that 'less' does not go with one-syllable words. But I have doubted the rule espoused by the book. That's why I posted the question. Your quotes justify my doubt. Let's expect our moderators to jump in and offer their ideas. komountain Grammar

	pieanne  +  132938 Thu, 01 Sep 05 07:03 PM I think "less big" and such should be re-written into "not so/as big as..."   pieanne

	komountain  +  133090 Fri, 02 Sep 05 07:16 AM Hi, Pieanne. Yes, I know its alternative. But I wonder if the afore-mentioned rule can be generalized. Is its generalization valid? Even though the rule works fine with 'big,' I still don't think it's universally applicable. Doubt hangs heavy over my head. Is there anyone out there capable of clearing the doubt about this so-called rule?     komountain