A long-term study of some 1,000 physicians

A long-term study of some 1,000 physicians indicates that the more coffee these doctors drank, the more they had a likelihood of coronary disease.

3 Explanations

▲

Zubin Baisiwala

In the example 3 of link posted in comment section: It costs more to go to the ballgame than to go to the opera.
You have used "More"here.
However if you see examples of "greater" are- percent, interest rate, population, volume, distance, price, cost, and number.
The word " cost" and "money" is covered under "greater" because it quantifies in number.
In above example we are talking about the word "cost" which considers comparison of price of both things- ballgame and opera, so why have we not considered "greater" instead of more" here?
Correct me if I am wrong

Nov 13, 2016 • Comment

Adam

Hi Zubin,

The reason is that "cost" is a verb. When it's a noun, we use "greater," but when it's a verb, we use "more."

It costs more.
It is more expensive.

vs.

The cost is greater
The expense is greater

"It costs greater" is 100% incorrect.

In the blog post below, Mike writes: "The question arises: when do we use “greater” rather than “more”? We use “greater” when the noun in question is a number."

http://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-comparisons-more-vs-greater-and-less-vs-fewer/

So, since "cost" is not a noun in the example you're talking about, we don't use greater.

Nov 19, 2016 • Reply

▲

Agum Sharma

likelihood is a number? i.e probability 'why we are using greater?

Nov 11, 2016 • Comment

Cydney Seigerman, Magoosh Tutor

Hi Agum,

Happy to help! Likelihood is defined as "the probability of a specified outcome." For that reason, the correct answer uses the idea of a greater likelihood (i.e. a greater probability) :)

Hope this clears up your question!

Nov 13, 2016 • Reply

▲

Pairoj Kiatpanya

greater and more ==> what is the different??

Nov 21, 2015 • Comment

Cydney Seigerman, Magoosh Tutor

Hi Pairoj :)

As we explain on our GMAT blog (http://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/gmat-comparisons-more-vs-greater-and-less-vs-fewer/), we can use more to describe both countable and uncountable nouns:

1. He collected more bottles than his sister. ("Bottles" is a countable noun.)
2. They drank more water than the other team. ("Water" is an uncountable noun.)

On the other hand, we use “greater” when the noun in question is a number, e.g. The price of skim milk is greater than the price of whole milk. ("The price" refers to a number quantity, which calls for the use of "greater than.")

Nov 21, 2015 • Reply