usage of greater vs more

[ildude02]

Can anyone please explain when to use "greater" and when to use "more" in a sentence. I have read somewhere in this forum that "greater" should be used when the sentence is talking about numbers or if it's comparing "numbers". "More" should be used if we are talking about nouns. I have two examples below which don't follow the same pattern of differentiation.



1)The gryfalcon, an Arctic bird of prey has survived a close brush with EXTINCTION; IT'S NUMBERS ARE NOW FIVE TIMES GREATHER THAN when the use of DDT was sharply restricted in the early 1970's

-----I beleive we should use "greater than" since it's comparing "number of birds"

2)The number of internet users has grown BY MORE THAN TEN PERCENT increase in the past year.

----If the initial explanation of "comparing numbers" should use "greater" stands, we should be using "greater than" instead of "more than". But the answer is "MORE THAN" and not "GREATER THAN". This is where I'm confused since both the above examples are talking about "numbers", yet one of them uses "more than" and the other one uses "greater than".

Can anyone please explain the difference and when I should use MORE and GREATER.

Thanks!

[mmslf75]

Can someone pls explain the difference between

More vs Greater
Less vs Lower ??

[gmatv09]

Use ‘greater than’ when DESCRIBING NUMBERS

The gyrfalcon, an Arctic bird of prey, has survived a close brush with
extinction; its numbers are now five times greater than when the use of DDT
was sharply restricted in the early 1970’s

Use 'more than' when DESCRIBING NUMBER OF OBJECTS
or comparing nouns (people etc)

I have more apples than bananas
He is more talented than his brother

Hope it helps !

[gmatpill]

You really should not be spending your time thinking about what rules apply to more vs. greater--especially if you are all about efficient studying.

The GMAT does not test this.

Having said that, I can think of several examples that violate "rules" that were previously mentioned.

For example, using "greater than" for numbers..
What about this? : "His love for his country was greater than anything one could imagine."

Another one: use "more than" for objects
What about this? : "He studies more than any other GMAT student."

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Anyway, my point is not to think of rules.
Instead, think of "More than" as a general term and "greater than" as a specific example--like a subset of "more than"

Also, think of it in terms of nouns vs. verbs/adjectives.

With verbs, you cannot use "greater than"--
but for nouns, you can use either "greater than" or "more than"

"More persistence than a marathon runner" [noun] - OK
"Greater persistence than a marathon runner" [ noun] - OK

"Number of birds is greater than..." [noun] - OK
"Number of birds is more than..." [noun] - OK

"Runs more than a typical athlete" [verb] - OK
"Runs greater than a typical athlete" - [verb] WRONG

"He is more talented than his brother" [verb/adjective] - OK
"He is greater talented than his brother" - [verb/adjective] WRONG

"Gandhi is a greater man than..." [noun] -OK
"Gandhi is more of a man than..." [noun] - OK

Notice "greater than" is more limited than "more than."

Anyway, if you've read this far, you're spending too much time on the little things that DON'T MATTER. I advise you study efficiently so you don't waste your time.