Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
He is very honest. He is _______ than David.
a) honest
b) more honestly
c) more honest
d) honestly

Answer 1

Hint: In the given sentence, a comparison is being made. This means that the word needed is a comparative adjective, which can fulfill the comparison being made.

Complete answer:
Degrees of comparison are used to compare two or more subjects or objects. The three degrees of adjectives are positive, comparative, and superlative.

Positive - The positive degree is the simplest degree of comparison. It has no special ending. It offers no comparison, just the existence of a particular quality.
Comparative - This degree compares two or more things to find which one exists in a more or less degree. It either has the word ‘more’ before the adjective or has the suffix ‘-er’ after the adjective.
Superlative - This degree denotes the most extreme form of the adjective. It is formed by using the article ‘the’ before the adjective and adding either ‘most’ before the adjective or the suffix ‘-est’ after the adjective.

Let us look at the given sentence-
In the given sentence, there are two people being compared - ‘he’ and ‘David’. This means that the degree of comparison needed is comparative.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-

a) honest - This word does not have words around it. This means that the degree of comparison is ‘positive’. This is not used to compare two things. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) more honestly - This phrase is grammatically incorrect for the given sentence. Therefore, it cannot be used in the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) more honest - This phrase contains the word ‘more’. This means that the degree of comparison is ‘comparative’. This is used to compare two things. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
d) honestly - This word is not an adjective, it is an adverb. Therefore, it cannot be used in the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
 Look at the given sentence and note that there are two people that are being compared. This means that the blank should be filled by a specific part of speech. Choose the correct option accordingly.