The syntax of comparative constructions is poorly understood due to the complexity of the data.
A number of fixed expressions use a comparative form where no comparison is being asserted, such as higher education or younger generation.
These comparisons are frequently found in advertising, for example, in typical assertions such as Our burgers have more flavor, Our picture is sharper or 50% more.
Scientific classification, taxonomy, and geographical categorization conventionally include the adjectives greater and lesser, when a large or small variety of an item is meant, as in the greater celandine as opposed to the lesser celandine.
These adjectives may at first sight appear as a kind of null comparative, when as is usual, they are cited without their opposite counterpart.
It is in the nature of grammatical conventions evolving over time that it is difficult to establish when they first became widely accepted, but both greater and lesser in these instances have over time become mere adjectives (or adverbial constructs), so losing their comparative connotation.
[7] It occurs when the focused constituent in the than-clause is not deleted because it is distinct from its counterpart in the main clause.
[9][10] In recent times, such constructions have been used humorously, or to convey a sense of erudition, in addition to their original purpose of emphasis.
Russell Ultan (1972) surveyed 20 languages and observed that the comparative and superlative are inflected forms of (near-)identical bases with respective to the positive and equative.
Bobaljik formulates the Comparative-Superlative Generalization: With respect to the positive, if any adjective’s comparative degree were suppletive, so would its superlative; vice versa, if any adjective’s superlative degree were suppletive, then so would its comparative.