daagh wrote:
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Neeraj wrote
As per my understanding, Greater/Fewer than is used for all countable things and More/Less than is used for non-countable things. Here homeowners are clearly countable. Please help me understand this.
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Stacey wrote
1.
https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... t4000.html"greater than" is used for uncountable nouns. "More than" is typically used for countable nouns (though you can also say something like "She likes Sam more than Amy" - but that construction does not show up much on the test).
So: "The population density of calico cats in San Francisco is greater than three per square mile" (here, the word we're describing is "density," which is not a countable noun - you wouldn't say "1 density, 2 densities, 3 densities...")
vs: "I have more calico cats living in my home than you do." (here, we're describing "cats," which is a countable noun because you would say "1 cat, 2 cats, 3 cats...")
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director of Online Community
ManhattanGMAT
Let’s try and see whether more than or greater than makes better sense.
the annual cost of water and utilities to more than 50 percent of the homeowners in Santa Rosa is at least 148 dollars per capita
the annual cost of water and utilities to greater than 50 percent of the homeowners in Santa Rosa is at least 148 dollars per capita
Clearly more than is better because homeowners is countable. Greater than 50% of homeowners is very weird.
daagh,
souvik101990, Please help me on this question.
Generally, to compare statistical data, we use greater rather than more:
a GREATER number of people
a GREATER percentage of citizens
a GREATER probability of success
* if we are dealing with a word that literally describes a numerical quantity (number, rate, height, percentage,distance,length, volume, population, etc.), then we use “greater”.
Below is an official question-
A long-term study of some 1,000 physicians indicates that the more coffee these doctors drank, the greater was their likelihood of having coronary disease.