Is it acceptable to say "more fair" as opposed to "fairer" ? Is one more appropriate than the other?
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Please let us know what you have learned from your research into this question prior to asking the question here. Adding that information to your question will help answerers avoid duplicating your efforts and will, if nothing else, demonstrate that you have consulted some standard resources to no avail. – Sven Yargs Apr 03 '16 at 00:01
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My love is more fair than a summer's day. – Hot Licks Apr 03 '16 at 01:03
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There is, in general, no rule against using a "more xxxx" form, even though the "xxxxer" form is available as an "approved" word. Using the "more" form is often done for poetic reasons, or simply for a change in emphasis. – Hot Licks Apr 03 '16 at 02:24
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one-syllable and two-syllable adjectives have their comparative formed by adding -er. Three-syllable adjective and longer ones use more + adj. "Fairer" is the correct choice to make.
acekidpro
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Cool - your answer led me to find this other related thread: “More clear” vs “Clearer”: when to use “more” instead of “-er”? – ThisClark Apr 03 '16 at 00:12
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1As the comments in the "More clear" vs "Clearer" Q&A suggest, the normal treatment of a particular two-syllable word is by no means predictable solely on the basis that the root word has two syllables. For example: heavier, loftier, and speedier, but more polite, more spacious, and more sordid. – Sven Yargs Apr 03 '16 at 02:03
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1For that matter, at the one-syllable level, more burnt, more stunned, more wrecked; and at the three-syllable level, unhappier, which is well established as an alternative to more unhappy in some settings. – Sven Yargs Apr 03 '16 at 02:03
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