Comparative Correlative - Definition and Examples

Comparative Correlative s In grammar, a comparative correlative is a minor sentence pattern containing two corresponding phrases or clauses, each one headed by the and expressing a comparative: the X-er . . . the X-er or the X-er . . . the Y-er. The comparative correlative is also known as the correlative construction, the conditional comparative, or the the . . . the construction. Grammatically, the comparative correlative is a type of paired construction; rhetorically, the comparative correlative is often (but not always) a type of parison. Common Comparative Correlative Expressions The greater the risk, the greater the return.The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.(American football coach Vince Lombardi)The deeper our sorrows, the louder well singLife is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.(Maya Angelou, Wouldnt Take Nothing for My Journey Now. Random House, 1993)The more we do, the more we can do; the more busy we are, the more leisure we have.(William Hazlitt, The Spirit of the Age, 1825)The older the men are here, the more likely it is that they are wearing suits and ties.(John McPhee, Giving Good Weight. Giving Good Weight. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1979)The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.(Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars, 1977)The less we deserve good fortune, the more we hope for it.(Seneca)The greater your achievements, the less satisfactory your personal and domestic life will be.(Saul Bellow, More Die of Heartbreak. William Morrow, 1987) The more you pay attention to the richness of the world, the more you allow your interest to be absorbed by things outside of you, the more interesting a person you will become. And the more you pay attention to the world outside you, the more it gives back: by a kind of miracle, it will become a more interesting place.(Barbara Baig, How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play. Writers Digest Books, 2010) 'The More the Merrier' This construction - schematically [the X-er the Y-er] - is commonly referred to as the correlative construction (Culicover 1999: 83-5); Culicover and Jackendoff 1999; Fillmore, Kay, and OConnor 1988). It conveys that any increase (or decrease) in the value of X is associated with, and may even be construed as the cause of, an increase (or decrease) in the value of Y. A notable feature of the construction is the fact that the word the which features in it is not a determiner and is therefore not to be identified with the definite article the. Some instantiations of the construction: (16a) The more I know the more I worry.(16b) The less they have to say the more they talk.(16c) The bigger they are the harder they fall.(16d) The earlier you start the more you chance you have of being successful.(16e) The bigger the risk the bigger the payout.(16f) The less said the better. It is also worth noting that although the correlative construction is highly unusual, given the general principles of English syntax, it is not totally isolated from the rest of the language. There are, in fact, quite a few bipartite expressions in which the first element is presented as the cause, precondition, or explanation for the second. Like the correlative construction, these expressions lack a finite verb. Here are some examples: (17a) Garbage in, garbage out.(17b) Out of the frying pan (and) into the fire.(17c) Easy come, easy go.(17d) Cold hands, warm heart.(17e) Once bitten, twice shy.(17f) Out of sight, out of mind.(17g) Once a whinger, always a whinger.*(17h) One for me (and) one for you.(17i) First come, first served.(17j) Nothing ventured, nothing gained. * This expression instantiates the construction [ONCE A N, ALWAYS A N]. Examples from the BNC [British National Corpus] include once a Catholic, always a Catholic; once a Russian, always a Russian; once a misfit, always a misfit; once a dealer, always a dealer. The construction conveys that a person is not able to change their personality or their entrenched behaviour.(John R. Taylor, The Mental Corpus: How Language is Represented in the Mind. Oxford University Press, 2012) The . . . the (129) The more John eats the less he wants.This construction . . . is composed of two phrases, each of which expresses a comparative. Both may be of the form the more XP... , in which case the first is interpreted as a subordinate clause and the second as a main clause. Or, the first clause can simply contain a comparative, e.g. John wants less, in which case the first clause is interpreted as the main clause and the second is interpreted as a subordinate clause.Of particular relevance to the present discussion is the fact that the internal structure of the more . . . is sui generis, in the sense that the learner must simply acquire the knowledge that an expression of this form can be used in the way that we have described. As shown by Culicover and Jackendoff (1998), the more functions as an operator that binds a variable, and the chain that is formed is subject to the usual locality constraints. The form the more . . . must be initial in the clause, and cannot pied pipe a preposit ion...(Peter W. Culicover, Syntactic Nuts: Hard Cases, Syntactic Theory, and Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press, 1999) The Little Word 'the' (6) The more a student studies, the better grades she will receive.In English, both the first phrase and the second phrase obligatorily begin with the little word the. The unacceptability of (7a) is due to the absence of the in the first clause, in (7b) in the second clause, in (7c), the absence of the in both clauses unsurprisingly also results in unacceptability. (7a) * More a student studies, the better grades she will receive.(7b) * The more a student studies, better grades she will receive.(7c) * More a student studies, better grades she will receive. (Ronald P. Leow, Little Words: Their History, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Acquisition. Georgetown University Press, 2009)

US Military Colt M1911 Pistol

US Military Colt M1911 Pistol Colt M1911 Specifications: Cartridge: .45 ACPCapacity: 7 round detachable box magazineMuzzle Velocity: 835 ft./sec.Weight: approx. 2.44 lbs.Length: 8.25 in.Barrel Length: 5.03 in.Action: Short Recoil Operation Colt M911 Design Development In the 1890s, the US Army began searching for an effective semi-automatic pistol to replace the revolvers that were then in service. This culminated in a series of tests in 1899-1900 in which examples from Mauser, Colt, and Steyr Mannlicher were examined. As a result of these tests, the US Army purchased 1,000 Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) Luger pistols which fired a 7.56 mm cartridge. While the mechanics of these pistols were satisfactory, the US Army (and other users) found that the 7.56 mm cartridge lacked sufficient stopping power in the field. A similar complaint was lodged by US troops battling the Philippine Insurrection. Equipped with M1892 Colt revolvers, they found that its .38 cal. round was insufficient to bring down a charging enemy, especially in the close confines of jungle warfare. To temporarily rectify the situation, older .45 cal. M1873 Colt revolvers were sent to the Philippines. The heavier round quickly proved move effective. This along with the results of the 1904 Thompson-LeGarde tests led planners to conclude that a new pistol should, at minimum, fire a .45 cal. cartridge. Seeking a new .45 cal. design, the Chief of Ordnance, Brigadier General William Crozier, ordered a new series of tests. Colt, Bergmann, Webley, DWM, Savage Arms Company, Knoble, and White-Merril all submitted designs. After preliminary testing, the models from Colt, DWM, and Savage were approved for the next round. While Colt and Savage submitted improved designs, DWM elected to withdraw from the competition. Between 1907 and 1911, extensive field testing took place using both the Savage and Colt designs. Constantly improved as the process moved forward, John Brownings Colt design ultimately won the competition. M1911 Design The action of Brownings M1911 design is recoil operation. As combustion gases drive the bullet down the barrel, they also exert a reverse motion on the slide and barrel pushing them backwards. This motion ultimately leads to an extractor expelling the spent casing before a spring reverses the direction and loads a new round from the magazine. As part of the design process, the US Army directed that the new pistol possess both grip and manual safeties. Operational History Dubbed the Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 by the US Army, the new pistol entered service in 1911. Assessing the M1911, the US Navy and Marine Corps accepted it for use two years later. The M1911 saw extensive use with American forces during World War I and performed well. As wartime needs exceeded Colts production capabilities, an additional manufacturing line was established at the Springfield Armory. In the wake of the conflict, the US Army began assessing the M1911s performance. This led to several minor modifications and the introduction of the M1911A1 in 1924. Among the changes to Brownings original design were a wider front site, shorter trigger, an extended grip safety spur, and a simplified design on the grips. Production of the M1911 accelerated during the 1930s as tensions around the globe heightened. As a result, the type was the principal sidearm of US forces in World War II. During the conflict, approximately 1.9 million M1911s were produced by several companies including Colt, Remington Rand, and Singer. The US Army obtained so many M1911s that it did not purchase new pistols for several years after the war. A highly successful design, the M1911 remained in use with US forces during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In the late 1970s, the US military came under increasing pressure from Congress to standardize its pistol designs and find a weapon that could utilize the NATO-standard 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. A variety of testing programs moved forward in the early 1980s which resulted in the selection of the Beretta 92S as the M1911s replacement. Despite this change, the M1911 saw use in the 1991 Gulf War with a variety of specialized units. The M1911 has also remained popular with US Special Forces units which have carried variants during the Iraq War and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. As a result of their use of the weapon, the Army Marksman Unit began experimenting with improving the M1911 in 2004. Designated the M1911-A2 project, they produced several variants for Special Forces use. The M1911 has been produced under license in other countries and is currently in use with numerous militaries around the world. The weapon is also popular with sportsmen and competitive shooters. In addition, the M1911 and its derivatives are in use with law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations Hostage Rescue Team, numerous local S.W.A.T. units, and many local police forces. Selected Source Browning: History of the M1911 PistolOlive-Drab: M1911/1911A1 PistolWorld Guns: Colt M1911 Pistol