PiyushK wrote:
Dear Mike,
Could you please help identify right sentence.
Eddie confidently and slowly searched for a distinct, uncommon and memorable object of great size.
Eddie confidently and slowly searched for a distinct, uncommon and memorable object of greatest size.
I think second sentence is right, because in current context Eddie is searching an object among various objects and he wants to identify an object of greatest height.
Though it is not explicitly stated that their are more than 2 objects, I am just assuming. Do you think such assumption is fine in the context set by this sentence?
Thanks & Regards
Pk
Dear
PiyushK,
I'm happy to respond.
The first sentence could be perfectly correct if Eddie is looking simply for a large item with these other qualities.
The second sentence needs a definite article.
Eddie confidently and slowly searched for a distinct, uncommon and memorable object of the greatest size.
This second sentence means that Eddie is looking, not just for a large item with these other qualities, but for the largest possible item with the other qualities.
And yes, if we are talking about all possible items in a category, we always assume we are in the 3+ scenario, so we use the superlative, not the comparative.
Does all this make sense?
Mike
_________________
Mike McGarry
Magoosh Test PrepEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)