Wholesomer or more wholesome?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

I know we form comparatives such as small and nice by adding er or just r to the adjective. With beautiful, we add more to it. But what about wholesome? Do I add er or more?

Thanks.

2

------ Just a learner-------------
It’s wholesomer. Add R to it. It’s a correct way

But I think add “more” is still correct. with the adj has 2 syllables, we have 2 options :ER or More
For Ex : more clever or cleverer is acceptable, more pretty / prettier

One syllable We add ER, 3 syllables we add “MORE” - I supposed you already knew that.
Let see others opinions this one .

3

[color=blue]‘more wholesome’ is correct.

4

Thanks Waiyin Cheng and Canadian45. Waiying, you are right when you say more clever or cleverer because it’s an adjective with two syllables. For example, more simple or simpler. But with adjectives that finish with y, such as pretty and dry, the rule is: change the y to an i and add “er” - pretty, prettier; dry, drier. let’s wait for other people to comment on the subject.

5

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

Hello, Mr. Silva:

I typed a long reply, but the system “disappeared” it.

So I will just summarize it very briefly:

  1. Both “wholesomer” and “more wholesome” are correct.

  2. The rule: if a two-syllable word ends with a weak syllable, you can add “-er” or “more.”

a. “WHOLEsome” ends with a weak syllable, so the rule applies. (Compare: HANDsomer / more HANDsome.)

I spent a lot of time typing the “disappeared” post. Please excuse me for not having the strength to repeat it (I’m 77 years old!).

James

6

Thanks, James M. 77 years old? Not everybody lives so long. People your age have something that we who are 43 don´t: life experience! Thanks again for the help.

7

Thank you, Mr. Silva, for your kind comments.

By the way, in my “disappeared” post, I mentioned the following:

Whenever you want to see how established writers (of fiction and non-fiction) use the language, go to the “books” section of Google.

I typed in “wholesomer,” and found many examples of its use; I then typed in “more wholesome” and found even more examples.

Have a nice day!

James

8

You too, James M. Thanks!