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up vote 4 down vote favorite

Which one of the following expressions is grammatical?

  1. Please donate $5. More is welcome!
  2. Please donate $5. More is welcomed!
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1  
I think they are of about equal wrongness; perhaps the latter is grammatically better; but I would say "More is better" instead. – jwpat7 Jul 17 '12 at 20:30
@jwpat7: Thanks for your suggestion. Is the 1st one somehow related to "You are welcome"? In other words, are they the same type of construction? – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Jul 17 '12 at 20:33
I suspect there's an element of formality in the choice between the two. – Barrie England Jul 17 '12 at 20:47
1  
@jwpat7: I disagree. The first is better than the second, but in the context of such "deferential requests" you'd more likely phrase it "More would be welcome!". – FumbleFingers Jul 17 '12 at 21:09

3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

They're both grammatical:

  • Welcome is an adjective which means agreeable or gladly received.

  • Welcome is also a verb meaning to receive or accept with pleasure. Formed into a past participle, which functions as an adjective, it is welcomed.

More is welcome is definitely the one you want, since it implies to the viewer that they are being targeted by the statement. More is welcomed, on the other hand, sounds like a bare statement of fact that you currently accept more, without the same appeal to the individual viewer.

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up vote 2 down vote

"Welcome" is correct as it is the standard adjective.

"Welcomed" is a past participle, which are often similar to the adjective form, but in this case a different adjective exists, i.e. "welcome".

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Welcome to ELU, +1. – Carlo_R. Jul 17 '12 at 20:40
up vote 2 down vote
  • "More is welcomed" relates to the money being welcomed (greeted at the door), should it arrive.
  • "More is welcome" relates to the concept of "more" being welcome (door is always open), should it arrive or not.

Also,

  • the first implies that you intend to thank them when they give you money.
  • the second is more in spirit with the sentence: "Thanks, door's open, just leave it on the table", thus not necessarily implying an immediate thank you.
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