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16:02 Feb 7, 2003
English to English translations [PRO] Linguistics / Linguistics
English term or phrase:commonest vs.more common
Which is correct and why? I found some contraversial information in a textbook and want to ask this question.
The standard rule is that adjectives of two syllables end in -er and -est for the comparative and superlative. But there are exceptions. A well-respected writer on English usage, Michael Swan, states: "With many two-syllable adjectives (e.g. polite, common), -er/-est and more/most are both possible. To find out the normal comparative and superlative for a particular two-syllable adjective, check in a good dictionary.
I checked the Concise Oxford and it gives -er/est. So your book follows the Concise Oxford, i.e. "the commonest". But as Michael Swan said, both are possible, which means that educated native speakers use both forms.
I agree with Alison and Fuad that both are possible. And I agree with Peter that “of one thing I am sure, however, any textbook that "totally rejects" most common is suspect.”
The thing is that I studied all the adjective rules when I was a student (more than 20 years ago). And I have Michael Swan's book. I know that with many two-syllable adjectives (e.g. polite, common), -er/-est and more/most are both possible. I was surprised that the book claims that only one form is right. And I had to explain to a student that the authors of textbooks can be wrong as well...
THANX TO EVERYBODY! 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Sorry, there was a mistake. COMMONEST vs. MOST COMMON The problem is that the textbook totally rejects "most common" and gives "the commonest" as the only correct one...
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Answers
1 min confidence: peer agreement (net): +6
commonest is a superlative
Explanation: whereas more common is comparative.
They are not the same. Commonest would be the same as most common (a synonym), and both are equally correct.
HTH
Alison
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2003-02-07 16:05:31 (GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Sparrows are the most common (commonest) type of small birds in my neighborhood, whereas blackbirds are more common in the next town.
Perhaps commonest is more usual in spoken speech.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2003-02-07 16:10:54 (GMT) --------------------------------------------------
\"Frequently Asked Questions
Words
What are the commonest English words?
The only way to measure this is to analyse a large collection (or `corpus\') of texts, but lists based on different collections (or `corpora\') tend to disagree about even the top ten words in English.\"
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2003-02-07 18:32:15 (GMT) --------------------------------------------------
After discussing this briefly with my US husband, it would appear that this is another example of the great pond divide. Whereas I (UK) would say that commonest is fine, albeit more colloquial and certainly more spoken than written, my (US) hubby says that he would never say \"commonest\".
Alison Riddell Local time: 01:19 Native speaker of: English
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +6
