Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
Jane is _____ than Mary.

• A. very tall
• B. taller
• C. the tallest
• D. tallest

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

taller

In the given sentence, 'Jane' is the subject and 'Mary' is the object. The word 'than' indicates a comparison between the two. Also, we can say that the comparison is of a feature shared by Jane and Mary. Thus, the answer must be an adjective of comparative degree.

Option A is incorrect. 'very tall' is not an adjective of comparative degree. Also, in 'very tall', 'very' becomes the adjective and 'tall' becomes the object. Thus, using it means that the sentence will have two objects and so it will become grammatically incorrect.

Option B is correct. 'taller' is an adjective of comparison. It compares the height of Jane with the height of Mary. Thus, it is the correct answer.

Option C is incorrect. 'the tallest' is an adjective of superlative degree and not comparative degree. Thus, it is incorrect.

Option D is incorrect. 'tallest' is in the superlative degree. Also, adjectives in superlative degree must have a definite article before it. Thus, it is also grammatically incorrect.