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[hopeinagpa.livejournal.com]

What's the difference between "более" and "больше "?

When to use "более" instead of a comparative adjective? Or is the comparative adjective always used instead?

Comments

[ex-ex-zhuzh.livejournal.com]

When it means "larger" it's больше. Этот дом больше, чем тот. This house is larger than that one. Here, более can be used too, but it would sound very archaic or regional.

When it's used in a comparative form of adjectives and adverbs, it's более. Этот дом более старый, чем тот. This house is older than that one. Здесь более шумно, чем там. Here it's more noisy than there. In this construct больше is never used.

In other comparative constructs it's больше. Он получил больше, чем хотел. He's got more than he wanted. In such constructs более is rarely used.

In some idioms the words are more or less interchangeable. Более (больше) того = moreover. Этот дом более (больше) чем старый. This house is more than old (extremely old, ancient). Этих денег более (больше) чем достаточно, чтобы купить этот дом. This money is more than enough to buy this house. In all these cases, более is preferred, but больше is also quite acceptable.

I hope I haven't missed anything.

[ashalynd.livejournal.com]

Более того (moreover) is legal. Больше того in the same sence is colloquial and not recommended. "Этот дом больше того" (This house is larger than that other one) is possible but if you want to say "Moreover, this house is larger than the other one" you'd have to say Более того, этот дом больше, чем тот or just Более того, этот дом больше. In this phrase более того is nonseparable and nonchangeable expression: you cannot say более той, for example but you can say больше той: Эта гостиница больше той - this hotel is larger than that; Более того, эта гостиница больше - moreover, this hotel is larger.

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

I THINK that bol'she is used to say large, big, many, etc. Eta kniga bol'she: this is a big book.

Bolee would be "more ..." or "...er" Eta kniga bolee chornaya. This book is blacker.

Someone tell me if I'm close or completely wrong please?

[oryx_and_crake]

больше is a comparative form and is only used for comparison.

"эта книга больше" does not mean "it is a big book", it can only mean "this book is bigger [than the other one]".

"у меня больше книг" does not mean "I have many books" but "I have more books [than you]". (Maybe you have none and I have just one; I still have more books than you.)

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

Is using "knig" instead of "kniga" or "knigi" supposed to mean something? I've never seen that (maybe it's just a typo, or maybe you were making a point or something lol). If it does me something specific, can you please tell me?

Thanks for your correction! As soon as I started reading, it clicked in my brain again. I've been focusing on Chinese over Russian lately, and this is what happens ^_^

[oryx_and_crake]

It is genitive plural which is normally used with numbers greater than 4:

одна книга
две, три, четыре книги
пять, шесть, двадцать, сто, тысяча книг

Please note that it's the last digit of the number that defines the plurality and case of the counted noun, e.g.
сто двадцать одна книга
сто двадцать две книги
сто двадцать пять книг
сто тысяч книг

[oryx_and_crake]

so, you will use the same form of noun with words like больше, меньше, много, мало, нет

У меня много книг. (Like "У меня пять книг." - same case.)
У тебя книг больше.
У него совсем нет книг.

But:
У меня есть книги (книга).
Here you should use nominative case.

It's somewhat confusing because singular genitive of "книга" is also "книги". Compare:

У меня нет этой книги. I don't have this book.
У меня нет этих книг. I don't have these books.
У меня есть эти книги. I have those books.

[hopeinagpa.livejournal.com]

If больше is the comparative form (of большой) then how does более fit into the picture (grammatically)??

[oryx_and_crake]

Vasmer's dictionary says that it is an Old Slavonic comparative form of большой.

[hopeinagpa.livejournal.com]

Oh pooh. more confusion.

Thanks :D

[oryx_and_crake]

Don't worry, there is only one other word like более which is менее. (Менее/меньше is used in the same way as более/больше.) I don't think any other adjectives have this special form.