Select the most appropriate form of comparative degree that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence.
Food prices in Switzerland are expensiver to the rest of Western Europe.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The correct answer is option 3 i.e. more expensive than.
Error concept: Wrong use of comparative degree of adjective.
What is wrong: The word “expensiver” is incorrect because “expensive” does not form its comparative with “-er.”
Grammatical concept: Adjectives with more than two syllables (like expensive) form the comparative with “more” and the superlative with “most.” Also, in comparison we use “than,” not “to.”
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Saying “expensiver to” is grammatically wrong and breaks the comparative degree rule.
How to correct: Replace “expensiver to” with “more expensive than.”
Correct phrase/ correction: more expensive than
Final sentence: Food prices in Switzerland are more expensive than the rest of Western Europe.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.