The self-storage industry has three times the footprint than McDonald’s.
Or:
The self-storage industry has three times the footprint of McDonald’s.
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2The [footprint of the] self-storage industry is three times bigger than McDonald’s. OR The self-storage industry has three times the footprint of McDonald’s. But NOT *The self-storage industry has three times the footprint than McDonald’s. – ScotM Apr 24 '15 at 18:18
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Three times bigger is four times as big. – Brian Hitchcock Apr 25 '15 at 07:27
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@BrianHitchcock: I disagree. I've got 3 acres of land. You have one. Mine is three times bigger, right? How is it four times as big? (Or would you say it's 3 times as big and 2 times bigger?) – Tushar Raj May 04 '15 at 18:46
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1Believe what you wish to believe. But don't expect to pass math class. – Brian Hitchcock May 05 '15 at 05:56
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1Also relevant (at least to the discussion in the comments): "X times as many as" or "X times more than"? – Sven Yargs May 05 '15 at 07:54
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The first needs a fix:
The self-storage industry has three times more footprint than McDonald’s.
The other is correct and - as Professor Lawler says - simpler.
Marius Hancu
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Three times the footprint of
Zis OK, and quite common. Using three times more just raises the question of whether you're talking about 3X or 4X, plus it requires comparative syntax, which is very fussy. – John Lawler Apr 24 '15 at 18:18 -
@JohnLawler Professor Lawler, surely I don't have anything against Three times the footprint of Z, just wanted to fix the other choice for the OP, so he/she would have more choices to choose from :-) – Marius Hancu Apr 24 '15 at 20:13
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I have something against three times more —exactly what Prof Lawler has against it—it's ambiguous at best, and misleading to anyone who takes it literally. – Brian Hitchcock Apr 25 '15 at 07:30
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... which leaves me wondering just how much of a lady Lionel Richie's woman was! – David Garner Apr 25 '15 at 15:58