question
I am less TALL than you.

Question: Does this sentence sound natural to native speakers? If not, could you help me correct it? I mean, is 'less + short adjective' correct? ( 'less expensive' is ok with me, but less tall? )

Question

question
I am less TALL than you.

Question: Does this sentence sound natural to native speakers? If not, could you help me correct it? I mean, is 'less + short adjective' correct? ( 'less expensive' is ok with me, but less tall? )

Answer

It is technically correct, but unnatural. The more common expressions would be "I am not as tall as you" or "I am shorter than you."

Answer

Hi  Maggie,

I agree with Nathan's response.

If I were to say, "I'm not as tall as you" or "it's less expensive," I'm probably trying to stress the comparative adjective "less."

For example, "something is less expensive than I originally thought" or "she's not as tall as me," meaning that I really want to draw your attention to the nouns "expensive" and "tall" so that I can really highlight this negative comparison. If not, I'd just say, "it's cheaper" or she's shorter." It's more common.

I hope this helps.

Best,

Wenwei

Answers · 4

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