I had this question for my English exam a few years back. I've puzzled over this for quite some time. Which do you think would be the more appropriate answer?
The question is-
These roses are ____________(reddish/oranger) in color than the others.
According to the rules of grammar, reddish doesn't signify comparision, because it has the suffix "-ish". Comparision is mostly denoted by suffix "-er". Get what I mean? On the other hand, there's no word called "oranger". My teacher pointed this out and said that oranger is wrong. But again, some people told me that "oranger" would be more accurate, especially as "than" signifies comparision.
2006-10-26 07:18:23 · 18 answers · asked by Desert Rose 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Don't you just hate it when you knew you were right but the teacher said you were wrong? I think I would have gone with a write-in vote on this one. Both answers are wrong, but at least oranger is a comparative word...and I use the term "word" loosely. As with all misused words in the English language, it will eventually be acceptable.
2006-10-26 18:24:00 · answer #1 · answered by AileneWright 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
'These roses are reddish in color than the others' is the right answer. It sounds as if it's wrong, but it's not. It's grammatically correct. In that sense 'than' means 'in relation to'. 'These roses are reddish in color in relation to the others'.
The whole point of having 'oranger' as a choice was to see if the students would pick it. It's obviously not a word, but it sounds as if it would be the right answer. That's the whole point of the question, to see if you can pick the right answer and not the one that sounds right.
2006-10-26 07:32:29 · answer #2 · answered by Mr. Gray 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As an English teacher, I would prefer to see "These roses are more orange" or "These roses are more red".
That said, of the two, "oranger" is more correct (though there are more correct options that you were not offered) for the very reason that you stated. "Reddish" does not denote comparison, whereas "oranger" does, but "oranger" really is not a word. It is just more correct than "reddish."
I feel that it must have been a mistake on your teacher's part.
Excellent question!!!!!! I'll rate it high...
2006-10-26 07:28:16 · answer #3 · answered by ♥♥♥ Mommy to Two ♥♥♥ 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The teacher was wrong in my opinion. Were you allowed to change reddish to redder? I feel that even though oranger is not a word, the flow er sound of the sentence makes more sense when oranger is used instead of reddish. You and your friends are correct.
2006-10-26 07:25:16 · answer #4 · answered by carmen d 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The grammatically correct way would be to use:
more red in color than the others
more orange in color than the others
you wouldn't say reddisher or more reddish because the point of the "ish" is to say that it isn't 100% red. When you are saying "more red" it implies that it isn't 100% red but that it is being compared to something even less red. Including the "ish" would be redundant.
2006-10-26 07:30:39 · answer #5 · answered by lepninja 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They're both wrong. I think someone just made a mistake when making the test.
For "reddish" to be correct, the sentence would have to read:
These roses are more reddish in color than the others.
or
These roses are reddish in color.
As it's written, there is no correct answer.
2006-10-26 07:25:22 · answer #6 · answered by Samantha 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oranger is not a word but what you say about reddish is true.
I think who ever made up the test was more stupidest.
You were more right than wrong.
2006-10-26 07:28:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think I agree with the fact that you should have chosen "oranger", since this sentence is obviously trying to get you to choose a comparison word, based on the "than".
Although the general rules about comparative forms say that one-syllable words form comparatives with "more", the actual performance of native speakers on comparatives is quite variable. So I think that "oranger" is not completely ungrammatical.
I can see why this question would be confusing.
2006-10-27 20:35:50 · answer #8 · answered by drshorty 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
With only those two choices, "oranger" is the only one that fits, real word or not. And who says it's not a real word? If some roses can be redder than others, why not oranger?
2006-10-26 08:41:16 · answer #9 · answered by Reverend Black Grape 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is why our educational system is failing. "Oranger"?? Let's travel back in time before such wonderful educational terms like "rounding", shall we? The roses could be redder than the others, however, the proper way is to say "the roses are more red than the others". Tell your teacher it was the bestest answer you could find!
2006-10-26 07:28:14 · answer #10 · answered by Rob B 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋