It was more of a request than an order.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. It was more of a request than an order.
  2. It was more a request than an order.
  3. Would you like to know more?

Are "more"s adjectives in #1 and #2?
And I really can’t figure what part of speech the word “more” is in #3.

2

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

Your excellent question has forced me to do some research. Thank you for forcing me to learn something today.

Let’s discuss first the “easiest” sentence: Would you like to know MORE?
(a) If I understand my dictionaries correctly, “more” in that sentence is either a NOUN or a PRONOUN.
(i) I do not have the confidence to say which one is the “correct” answer. Since the dictionaries do not agree among themselves, perhaps some teachers might accept either answer.

Now let’s get to the really difficult sentences. Here is how a great grammarian would analyze them.

#2." It was MORE a request than an order."
a. Without “more,” we have “It was a request.”
i. “a request” is a noun that is being used as an adjective. It is the subjective complement of “it.” (“It” = subject; “is” = linking verb; “a request” = subjective complement.)
b. Your sentence involves a comparison because you used “more.” If I said, “You are more intelligent than I,” how would you parse “more”?
I bet that you answered “adverb.” And you would be right. (Well, in your sentence, the noun “a request” is being used like an adjective. Therefore, “more” is an adverb in your sentence.)

#1. “It was MORE of a request than an order.”
a. As you know, there is often more than one way to say something.
b. If you add “of,” then “more” can no longer be parsed as an adverb. Right? (Adverbs usually modify verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.)
c. Then we have to parse it – according to this brilliant grammarian – as a PRONOUN. (“of a request” is a prepositional phrase that modifies the pronoun “more.”)

James

Complete credit for this analysis goes to the great Dr. George Oliver Curme in his two-volume masterpiece A GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. This information is in Vol. 1, page 190.

3

Thank you very much for your hard work in answering my question and the great help.

I really like your analysis and it makes a lot of sense. However, may I ask some questions?

  1. Can we consider the sentence above as an elliptical version of the one below?

It was MORE of a request than an order.

  1. If #1 is right, is the sentence considered as good English and can I use it in exams?

  2. What is the role of “that” in the sentence? I think it is conjunction but not sure.

Great! To be honest, this is the first time I have seen “more” is used as a pronoun. Thanks a lot for teaching me that.

I thought it is an adverb. It really looks like an adverb to me.

Would you like some more food?

Can I say “more” is an adjective here?

The more I learn, the less I know.

Is “more” a pronoun?

Finally, I am sorry for asking a lot of questions.

4

The more I learn, the less I know. Is “more” a pronoun?
I think it is an adverb.

5

Could you give me some explanation?

6

As far as I have understood it, this is a special kind of expression (adverbial degree of comparison) which means something like ‘By how much, by so much’. It is always used in the comparative degree with the definite article invariably preceding the adverbs; the basic structure being ‘the more … the more’.

Here, in your example, the words ‘more’ and ‘less’ are related to the verbs ‘learn’ and ‘know’ respectively, and so they function as modifiers of those verbs. You may take a look at the sentences below:

The faster you walk, the sooner you reach. (How fast you walk decides how soon you will reach)
The louder you speak, the better I hear.
The harder you work, the higher you earn.

I hope you will agree that the words in the comparative form are all adverbs.

You may further note that ‘much’ and ‘little’ can function as both adjectives and adverbs.

7

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Screen:

  1. Ask all the questions that you want. That is the purpose of this website. (But if you break up your questions into individual threads, you might get more and faster answers.)

  2. Anglophile has already excellently answered some of your questions.

  3. Is the version without “of” simply an ellipsis of the one with “of,” I cannot answer with confidence. You might ask your teacher, or maybe someone else here will give us their (Sorry! But it is shorter than “his or her”) opinion.

  4. You asked about “that.” I think that you meant “thaN.” Am I right?

a. One book says that it is a relative adverb in your kind of sentence.
b. Another book says that it is a conjunction.

Both analyses are good. For the sake of simplicity, I guess that most teachers would accept “conjunction.” When you get some extra time, however, you might google “relative adverb.”

Thanks again for asking your original question. I really learned a lot.

James

P.S. May I give you some personal advice? In your last post to me, you included all of the words that I had written in my answer to you. I also used to do that. Then a moderator told me to stop it. All of the words of someone else’s post should be repeated only when it is necessary to prevent confusion. For example, if my post is #1 and your reply is #5. (And posts 2, 3, and 4 are from other people.) Then – in order to prevent confusion – it’s OK to copy the words from post #1 in your #5 post. Sorry for not explaining this situation very clearly. Have a nice day!

8

Thank you, James, for your compliments though you would answer them better.

9

Thank you, Anglophile and James, for your answers.
And sorry for that confusion. I didn’t know about that rule.