better
part of speech
adjective (good, better, best); adverb (well, better, best); verb (better, betters, bettered — to improve); noun (your betters)
meaning for a pupil
1) Better means more good. A score of 9 is better than a score of 7. tree →
2) Better as an adverb means in a more good way: she sings better now. tree →
3) Better means less ill: I feel better today. tree →
4) «Had better» means should: you had better hurry. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Better means more good or more worthwhile. The Torah uses it to weigh choices, as in "better to serve than to die". Proverbs often uses "Better is... than..." to teach that honesty and righteousness are worth more than wealth, and the Book of Judges uses it to compare two things. Interpretation: Tradition reads the "better than" sayings of Proverbs as lessons in wisdom, teaching that right living is worth more than riches. In the primary lessons: In maths: a comparison of two results; asks which is more (or less, for price or time); «better buy» compares the price per one item. In school: doing better, getting better with practice. In health: get better soon. Phrases: better than, get better, feel better, had better, better off, all the better, so much the better.
examples
- For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.' (Torah EXO.14.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- Our wives and our little ones will be a prey; were it not better for us to return into Egypt?' (Torah NUM.14.3, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Laban said: 'It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man; abide with me.' (Torah GEN.29.19, JPS 1917) tree →
- Better is open rebuke than love that is hidden. (Writings PRO.27.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Writings PRO.16.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? (Prophets JDG.8.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- Which is the better buy: 3 for $1 or 5 for $2? tree →
- Her score was 8 points better. tree →
- He did better on the second test. tree →
- Is it better to walk or take the bus? tree →
- I was sick yesterday, but I feel better now. tree →
- You had better take a coat; it is cold. tree →
- Her reading gets better every week. tree →
- Get well soon and feel better! tree →
- Can't you think of something better?" tree →
note
Comparative of «good» and «well»: good, better, best. Never «more better» or «gooder». A comparison: find the difference or compare per one item. Trap: a better price is a lower one, a better time in a race is a shorter one.
In the corpora
- For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.'
- Our wives and our little ones will be a prey; were it not better for us to return into Egypt?'
- Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
- Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
- Better is a little that the righteous hath than the abundance of many wicked.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «better» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.