He is the taller of the two.
He is taller of the two.
Which one is correct and why?
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1Despite the ellipsis, it's quite formal: "He is the taller [person] of the two [= he and another person]"– Mari-Lou ACommented Sep 22, 2018 at 6:08
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Possible duplicate of The Taller Girls of the Two Girls [Ellipsis]– Mari-Lou ACommented Sep 22, 2018 at 6:20
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related: Use of “The better”? and Definite Article in front of the word 'better'– Mari-Lou ACommented Sep 22, 2018 at 6:28
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@Mari-LouA ??? Hey ML, none of those involve inquiring about whether a definite article needs to be used. What's the connection?– Araucaria - HimCommented Sep 25, 2018 at 22:34
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Without a preposition phrase, either works: He is the taller/He is taller. If you add a PP specifying the range, you need an article: *He is taller of the two, but He is the taller of the two. The article is the same one used in the superlative, and for the same reason: uniqueness. This entails that the range is limited to two.– John LawlerCommented Feb 7, 2023 at 20:01
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5 Answers
The correct one is the one with the definite article. To prove this, I searched the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
I first searched BE the _jjr* of the two (which finds examples that are a form of the verb "to be" followed by "the" followed by a comparative followed by "of the two") and got 110 results. Here's a screenshot of the forms it matched (limited to those that matched twice or more).
I also searched BE _jjr* of the two (the same search without the direct article) and got one result.
The answer is clear: "the taller of the two" is correct because that's the form people use. You are referring to a specific previously mentioned person or thing, which is why the definite article fits.
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good ole corpus based, descriptive grammar at work +1, but this doesnt establish that the other construction is wrong. -1, so you even out at 0 Commented Sep 23, 2018 at 6:28
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"Sam and Bob play baseball. Sam is taller of the two". Here we can say of "the" two ( because they were already mentioned). The new assertion about their relative height need not contain "the", referring to nothing already known or mentioned. Commented Feb 7, 2023 at 19:37
You could say :
Of the two, he is taller.
And it is difficult to say why that is more acceptable than :
He is taller of the two.
In the first above, there has been an identification 'the two'. Then comes a comparison 'taller'.
But in
He is taller of the two
the identification hangs in the air, waiting, as the comparison is being made.
It seems to me that our minds need to focus on something being identified, before we can compare it with something else and I think that is why one of the OP sentences is preferred above another.
[The other answer by @Laurel has already shown that there definitely is a preference.]
The first of the OP sentences contains (I would say) an ellipsis :
He is the taller [one] of the two.
I think the addition of the elliptical noun emphasises the identification being made and the reason for the sentence being preferred. The 'one' is identified out of the 'two'.
He is the taller of the two boys. ( because of the two is used before noun) ( so it is a rule that we have to use the before comparative degree when of the two is before plural noun)
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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– Community BotCommented Feb 7, 2023 at 19:27
"He is taller of the two." is correct because the definite article is only used before a comparative noun when the listener knows what is being referred to. In the case of the superlative, this rule changes.
tallest can not be used in the upper sentence, as here we compare only two objects. The superlative form can be used only in the case of three or more.l
answered Sep 22, 2018 at 5:25
