Officials at the United States Mint believe that

[RonPurewal]

What's the difference between "lighter" and "less"? Is B wrong also because "lighter" cannot be used as an adverb?

Thanks in advance.

In that part of the sentence, we're trying to modify "8.1 grams".

You can't write that 8.1 grams is "lighter" than something. You can only write that some physical object is lighter than some other physical object.

Analogy:
I am 70.5 inches tall. My brother is 75.5 inches tall.
I am shorter than my brother. Correct.
My height is less than my brother's. Correct.
My height is shorter than my brother's. Nonsense.

[yulongw540]

What's the difference between "lighter" and "less"? Is B wrong also because "lighter" cannot be used as an adverb?

Thanks in advance.

In that part of the sentence, we're trying to modify "8.1 grams".

You can't write that 8.1 grams is "lighter" than something. You can only write that some physical object is lighter than some other physical object.

Analogy:
I am 70.5 inches tall. My brother is 75.5 inches tall.
I am shorter than my brother. Correct.
My height is less than my brother's. Correct.
My height is shorter than my brother's. Nonsense.

Hi Ron, thank you for your explanation. I went through all the posts and reposts in this thread. Here is my thought:

Dollar coin weighs only 8.1 grams, far lighter than four quarters. -- INCORRECT, because "8.1 grams" cannot lighter than anything.

Dollar coin weighs only 8.1 grams, far less than four quarters. -- CORRECT, because "8.1 grams" can more or less than "some weight". And we can compare "8.1 grams" with "four quarters" here because GMAC give "far less than" some flexibility.

Is my thought correct?

[RonPurewal]

that's all accurate except the comment about "flexibility".

this construction is more precise than you seem to think. this modifier construction works because both pieces make sense after the verb "weighs".
xxxx weighs only 8.1 grams.
xxxx weighs far less than 4 quarters.

"lighter" fails this criterion, since you can't say that something "weighs lighter" than something else.

[RonPurewal]

by the way, the same principle is at work when a noun is modified/described with another noun ("appositives").

e.g., He lives in Benton Harbor, an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.
again, both pieces work individually:
He lives in Benton Harbor.
He lives in an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.

[yulongw540]

by the way, the same principle is at work when a noun is modified/described with another noun ("appositives").

e.g., He lives in Benton Harbor, an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.
again, both pieces work individually:
He lives in Benton Harbor.
He lives in an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.

Thank you so much for your reply!

[tim]

:)

[RonPurewal]

you're welcome.

[Crisc419]

by the way, the same principle is at work when a noun is modified/described with another noun ("appositives").

e.g., He lives in Benton Harbor, an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.
again, both pieces work individually:
He lives in Benton Harbor.
He lives in an old industrial town on Lake Michigan.

Do you mean "far less than" is an appositive of "8.1 grams" not an adjective modifier of "8.1 grams"?

Thanks

Cris

[RonPurewal]

i don't know or remember these terms.
there's no point in paying attention to them; there's literally no way in which grammatical terminology can actually help you on this exam (and LOTS of ways in which it can hurt you).

it doesn't matter what you call the modifier, as long as you know what it's supposed to do and how it works.