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I was always told by my teacher at secondary school (and I considered her a very good teacher), that "nicer" is grammatically incorrect. I never used it at all.
I studied English in 1989-1993. Has the language changed?
Now is the word "nicer" considered correct?
I see many people use it but I still remember the lessons of my Czech teacher and I can't use it. No way.
Please clarify.
I can see no reason why there should not be a comparative of the adjective ‘nice’ when used as meaning ‘pleasant or agreeable’; nor does the poster present one.
It may be that some linguistic pedants feel that because one of the earlier meanings of nice expressed the absolute idea of ‘precise, fine’, for which there was no comparison, this should carry over to other meanings. But that is not how languages work — new meaning, new usage.
There is ample evidence that ‘nicer’ has been in use since the 19th century — you just need to do a Google Books ngram search. Some examples:
Daisy, by Susan Bogert Warner, 1868
I think a vase of flowers would be a great deal nicer,” I said.
Oliver Beaumont and Lord Latimer, by Lady Emily Charlotte M. Ponsonby, 1873
“I mean that I think your plan as it is is so very nice, I would not try to make it nicer.”
I accept that the word ‘nice’ itself is weak in force, and an educated adult would use an alternative in many cases. In this respect it is interesting that both of these and some other 19th century examples are from children’s books, although they do not jar particularly. However if ‘nice’ is or was acceptable in this context, surely the comparative, ‘nicer’ should also be.
Even in its meaning as ‘precise, fine’, we find in the New England Journal of Dentistry for 1882
For if the impulse to development is given from without by the environment, these organs must be continually improved so as to perceive the nicer and nicer distinctions in the environment which will be the means of elevating the mind.
There seems to have been a decline in usage in the early 20th century (perhaps paralleling a discouragement of the use of ‘nice’), although in 1920 Hilaire Belloc, very much tongue-in-cheek, used the superlative, ‘nicest’, in:
The nicest child I ever knew
Was Charles Augustus Fortescue.
But returning to ‘nicer’, more mundane examples can be found in the mid century:
Unemployment Compensation Interpretation Service: Benefit series, 1948
…she would be required to purchase new clothes of good quality suitable for sales work in one of the nicer places…
The poster asks “Has the language changed?”. Of course it has — although not on the timescale the question suggests for this particular case. Language changes continually. And certainly an examination of the ngram cited above shows a steep rise in use in the 21st century, in both British and American writing. Presumably it is considered ‘nicer’ than it once was.
I was taught a "rule" in school to avoid the word "nice" entirely. What you need to be aware of is that that "rule" is appropriate for school children who are still learning creative writing. The overuse of "nice" is not creative or imaginative which is why many teachers prohibited its use.
However, it has always been grammatically correct where any other synonym would work, and now that I am older I use it all the time when it seems like the best choice out of all the possibilities I can think of.
There are many other "rules" in English which are really style guides that have been misunderstood and applied too generally, for example never using a preposition at the end of a sentence. So, avoiding "nicer" is only a style guide, not a rule.
Feel free to start using "nicer" as appropriate!
I was taught nice & anything more nice is better, if Oxford has added it in the dictionary I would like to know when, as it was not in the early 90's.
