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Ask for help > WHAT IS THE CORRECT ALTERNATIVE?
WHAT IS THE CORRECT ALTERNATIVE?
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wakebeauty
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WHAT IS THE CORRECT ALTERNATIVE?
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Hi dear colleagues,
Can any of you tell me which alternative of the exercise below is the correct one and why?
YOU ARE _____________ IN THIS DRESS. BUY IT.
A) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
B) MORE BEAUTIFUL
C) UGLIER
D) MORE UGLY
Thx a lot in advance,
wakebeuty.
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26 Mar 2009
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lyny
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The most beautiful, cause more beatiful is comparative you need a "than".
uglier is comparative you need a "than" too and more ugly? noooo, more is used only for two or more syllables for comparative.
Unless that �s what I know.
Good luck
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26 Mar 2009
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gumby59
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It can also be Option B (more beautiful) if you only tried on only two dresses. |
26 Mar 2009
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deinha
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For me it would be "more beautiful", suppposing a situation where the person has tried on two or more dresses and that specific one is the one in which she looks more beautiful (than in the others).
The option " the most beautiful" seems to lack something. I �d rather say: "the most beautiful girl in this place" or "this is the most beautiful dress you �ve tried on/I �ve ever seen" .
The "ugly" options are totallly out of question since there is a reccomendation that the person should buy it. Who would tell you to buy an ugly dress, right? 
Well, that is the way I see the question!  |
26 Mar 2009
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alien boy
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I �d have to go with B) MORE BEAUTIFUL
B) MORE BEAUTIFUL can mean:
- the dress improves your appearance compared with the clothes that you wore into the shop;
- the dress improves your appearance in comparison with the other dress you tried on;
- the dress improves your appearance compared with your everyday/normal/usual appearance.
A) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL would only be appropriate if we had more information to place it in context. Otherwise it is missing something:
You are the most beautiful ??? in this dress. Buy it.
Is it the most beautiful �girl �, �woman �, �bloke, �gorilla �, etc
C) UGLIER would only apply if you were Paris Hilton & you were testing your friends (or so I �ve heard)
Cheers! |
26 Mar 2009
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goodnesses
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Hi, All
Alien Boy �s is the most appropriate, according to me.
B) MORE BEAUTIFUL can mean:
- the dress improves your appearance compared with the clothes that you wore into the shop;
- the dress improves your appearance in comparison with the other dress you tried on;
- the dress improves your appearance compared with your everyday/normal/usual appearance.
A) THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NOT CORRECT as stated here.
It´s like when you say; You look better (not the best) in this dress. Buy it!
But I think "You will be the most beautiful in this dress (at the party). Buy it!" is OK.
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26 Mar 2009
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wakebeauty
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my dearest colleagues,
thx a lot for your answers, but I have to say that I am more confused now  ! this exercise is from a worksheet I got here at eslprintables, and when I read it I thought letter A was the correct one. But then a student didn �t agree with my correction and I started to realize that letter B may also be correct or is the only correct one   !
So please try to answer me which alternative is the correct one between A or B!!!!
Looking forward to hearing from you...
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26 Mar 2009
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Zora
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And I �d say all options are incorrect. None make all that much sense. I honestly think what you are looking for is this (the verb in your sentence is wrong):
You LOOK beautiful in that dress. Buy it.
OR
You LOOK most beautiful in that dress. Buy it.
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26 Mar 2009
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source
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Hi dear wakebeauty...
In your question forget about c and d as it says BUY IT. when we come to a it makes no sense.... with this kind of superlatives we want a noun.... you are the most beautiful GIRL etc.. but B is more sensible... As we can think she tried on some dresses and this one is more beautiful...Hope it will work...
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26 Mar 2009
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alien boy
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Hi zora!
I agree that MOST BEAUTIFUL would be appropriate - MOST would emphasise the degree of beauty, but MOST BEAUTIFUL was not one of the options. Unfortunately, nor was BEAUTIFUL.
The �MORE BEAUTIFUL � option allows for the implied meanings, as noted in my earlier post, without any additional contextual information being needed. This makes it the only acceptable option of the 4 (unless your Paris, of course!)
Cheers,
AB
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26 Mar 2009
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