Comparison: clauses (bigger than we had imagined)

The second part of a comparison (underlined) is often a clause:

The price was higherthan we had expected.

That restaurant is not as goodas it used to be.

It was the best nature documentary I’ve ever seen.

Than-clauses

We can use than to introduce a clause after a comparative adjective, adverb or noun phrase. The clause (underlined) is usually a reduced clause (a clause with ellipsis) or one with a substitute verb do:

The house was biggerthan we had imagined. (… bigger than we had imagined it was)

The journey took longerthan expected. (… longer than people expected it to take)

He finished the second part more quicklythan he did the first part. (… more quickly than he finished the first part.)

He always spent more moneythan George did. (… more money than George spent.)

Warning:

We use than, not that or as, to introduce a clause after a comparative adjective or adverb:

We finished the job quicker than we had expected.

Not: … quicker that we had expected. or … quicker as we had expected.

That-clauses

We can use a that-clause after a superlative:

Until 2005, the film had made the most money that any British film had ever made.

In informal situations, we can omit that:

It was the biggest fire (that) anyone had ever seen.

It was the least expensive restaurant (that) we ate at, but the food was excellent.