Comparative and Superlative

rogersgeorge on May 27th, 2022

I’ve posted this topic a bunch of times, but I just ran into two examples, so I better mention it again.

https://www.gocomics.com/ben/2022/05/25

and—

https://www.gocomics.com/forbetterorforworse/2022/05/26

In case the errors aren’t immediately obvious to you, here’s the rule:

When you’re comparing two things, use the comparative form: better.
When you compare three or more things, use the superlative form: best.

This error is so common, it’s probably a losing battle, but still…

You saw the errors, right?

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Rogers George has been a technical writer for more than 20 years. He has written on subjects as diverse as outhouse assembly, restaurant reviews, software, information security, and scientific equipment. He has his own writing consultancy and is always happy to discuss writing and grammar. Drop him a line at curmudgeon@writing-rag.com.

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