anything (else)

No it's not.

You must remember that commen usage is in most casses more important then proper usage.

Think of it in the same way the master of caligraphy stray from the proper.

Agreed.



Why "must" he? Who says? Also, that's not how to spell "cases".



What is that supposed to mean? This is how to spell "calligraphy".

Hi friends

I'm confused. Is 'else' necessary?

Many thanks.

Yoong Liat, it depends what you are trying to say. Once again, you have committed the sin of quoting a fragment and asking, without indicating whether or not there was preceding matter, whether or not this or that word is "correct" or "necessary".

The word "else" has a meaning similar to "other". So, if one see it, one immediately asks, "other than what?". You would use the word "else" to indicate that other ideas are involved. If there are no other ideas, leave it out!

"Health is more important than anything." Here we just state that health is the most important thing.

"Wealth and wisdom are important, but health is more important than anything else." Here we mention two important things, but go on to state that there is another thing which is more important. That could be rewritten as "Wealth, wisdom and health are important, and health is the most important"

I like Mary more than anyone. ("Else" is not needed.)

The girls in my class are nice, but I like Mary more than anyone else.

I have lived longer in Barcelona than anywhere. ("Else" is not needed.) else.

I have lived in various places, but I have lived longer in Barcelona than anywhere else.

Thanks, Contrex. Sorry about the lack of context, but those were all I had been given.

May I ask you another question?

John is taller than any (other) boy.

Is 'other' necessary? Or do I've to provide further context

Many thanks.

Well, now you can explain about "else" to the person who gave you that fragment.



Do not abbreviate "have" thus. Do I have to provide...

I keep writing this. In the hope that is sinks in, I will put it in bold type. It depends on what you are trying to say!

John is taller than any other boy.

"Other boy" implies that John is a boy. The claim would be hard to verify unless you have measured all the boys in the world.

Out of all the children in the class, John is taller than any other boy.

See what I mean about the further context?

John is taller than any boy. Implies that John is not a boy. John could be a man. Again, hard to verify. John might be a short man, and there are some very tall boys. John might be a horse or an elephant.

A 20-metre tall pine tree is taller than any boy. [In the world]

If you are an English tutor, Yoong Liat, may i repectfully suggest that you get some teacher training?

Joe(And always remember to capitalize correctly)Nation

Of course, I had to spoil it by misspelling "respectfully".

Thanks, Contrex and Joe.

And that's not how to spell "common", and I also would like to know what the hell that last sentence is supposed to mean... "the master of caligraphy stray from the proper."?????? And it's "than", not "then"! Good Lord, Amigo, please stop trying to help people if you're going to misspell, use incorrect words, and provide inadequate punctuation.

Not enough commas... "in most cases" should have a comma fore and aft. And again, after "No" in "No, it's not".

JMO

Don't fret -

Health is more important than anything.


"anything" could be wealth, status, love, cars, etc. . . .

(As I get older, I do think Health is more important than anything!

So there may be an "implied" context to the sentence.)