comparative non-finite clause – English Grammar Profiler

Here are some examples of a wide range of comparative non-finite clauses:

*At B1 learners can already use ‘verb-ing in this comparative construction.

A search on iWeb corpus for:

_jjr* to _v?i* than to _v?i*

1 BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE 280

*It is said... C1 Pronoun (108) with passive voice.

2 BETTER TO MARRY THAN TO BURN 77 3 EASIER TO SAY THAN TO DO 60

4 BETTER TO DIE THAN TO LIVE 20

5 CHEAPER TO BUY THAN TO RENT 18

6 EASIER TO DESTROY THAN TO CREATE 18 7 BETTER TO SHOW THAN TO TELL 17 8 EASIER TO PREVENT THAN TO CURE 16 9 EASIER TO DO THAN TO EXPLAIN 13

10 EASIER TO DO THAN TO DESCRIBE 12

1 BETTER TO BURN OUT THAN TO FADE 50 2 BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN TO BE 27 3 BETTER TO BE PREPARED THAN TO BE 21 4 BETTER TO BE ALONE THAN TO BE 17

5 EASIER TO FOOL PEOPLE THAN TO CONVINCE 16

1 MORE IMPORTANT THAN TO BE 29

2 MORE FRUSTRATING THAN TO HAVE 19 3 MORE FRUSTRATING THAN TO BE 16 4 MORE EXCITING THAN TO SEE 10

5 MORE FRUSTRATING THAN TO SPEND 8

_jjr* than *ed_jj
This is an unusual code.

1 HIGHER THAN EXPECTED 2873

2 LOWER THAN EXPECTED 2791 3 BETTER THAN EXPECTED 2147 4 LARGER THAN EXPECTED 966 5 WEAKER THAN EXPECTED 918 6 LONGER THAN EXPECTED 881 7 STRONGER THAN EXPECTED 848 8 SMALLER THAN EXPECTED 847 9 WORSE THAN EXPECTED 823 10 GREATER THAN EXPECTED 583 11 BIGGER THAN EXPECTED 547 12 SLOWER THAN EXPECTED 488 13 HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED 476 14 FASTER THAN EXPECTED 435 15 LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED 348 16 SHORTER THAN EXPECTED 281 17 HIGHER THAN RECOMMENDED 241 18 EARLIER THAN EXPECTED 202 19 LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED 173

20 GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED 167

_jjr* than _v?n*

1 LOWER THAN EXPECTED 459 2 HIGHER THAN EXPECTED 441 3 BETTER THAN EXPECTED 293 4 LARGER THAN NEEDED 244 5 LONGER THAN RECOMMENDED 181 6 HIGHER THAN REPORTED 171 7 WORSE THAN EXPECTED 158 8 HIGHER THAN PREDICTED 155 9 LONGER THAN EXPECTED 153 10 WEAKER THAN EXPECTED 153 11 STRONGER THAN EXPECTED 147 12 LARGER THAN EXPECTED 140 13 GREATER THAN EXPECTED 134 14 LONGER THAN NEEDED 133 15 HIGHER THAN RECOMMENDED 131 16 HIGHER THAN NEEDED 126 17 BETTER THAN ADVERTISED 108 18 LOWER THAN PREDICTED 107 19 SMALLER THAN EXPECTED 101

20 LONGER THAN PLANNED 99

B1 vocabulary:

advertised, convince, create, destroy, expected, fool, planned, predicted, prevent, recommended, reported, weaker

B2:
burn out, cure, fade

We have far more to gain than to lose.