I am reading higher than normal alcohol levels
in your bloodstream, sir.
“higher than normal” refers to the alcohol levels in the bloodstream being above the standard or average range. This could be due to recent consumption of alcohol. The exact range for “normal” can vary, but typically, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% is considered legally impaired in many countries. If the alcohol levels are “higher than normal,” it could mean that the BAC is above this limit. However, it’s important to note that even small amounts of alcohol can affect individuals differently, and it’s always safest not to drink and drive.
(higher-than-normal)
There are 19 species of mammals
that live longer than expected,
given their body size, than man, and 18 of those are bats.
The phrase “live longer than expected” (live longer than people expect) is used to compare the lifespan of certain species to what would typically be expected based on their body size. In the phrase “live longer than expected,” “longer” is used as an adverb modifying the verb “live.” It indicates living for a greater length of time than what was expected. ‘Expected’ is a past participle acting as an adjective.
There is no grammar point in the English Grammar Profile for this, so we believe it should be listed at C2.
The grammar pattern includes a comparative form which (if an adjective) is used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (“higher”, “lower”, “better”) + THAN which is a conjunction commonly used in comparisons + an adjective which describes or modifies another person or thing in the sentence. For example: “expected”, “normal”, “usual”, etc.. However, there is an advanced ellipsis.
The period at the end signifies the end of the clause to avoid attributive adjective phrases.
A search in the NOW corpus at 18 billion words for _JJR than _JJ .
1 HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. 1860
2 LOWER THAN EXPECTED. 1620
3 HIGHER THAN NORMAL. 1063
4 BETTER THAN EXPECTED. 1050
5 WORSE THAN EXPECTED. 801
6 STRONGER THAN EXPECTED. 751
7 WEAKER THAN EXPECTED. 701
8 HIGHER THAN USUAL. 685
9 LONGER THAN EXPECTED. 608
10 FASTER THAN EXPECTED. 538
11 HIGHER THAN AVERAGE. 464
12 WARMER THAN NORMAL. 455
13 LOWER THAN NORMAL. 400
14 WARMER THAN AVERAGE. 361
15 SLOWER THAN EXPECTED. 331
16 LOWER THAN USUAL. 323
17 FREER THAN FREE. 314
18 SMALLER THAN EXPECTED. 300
19 LONGER THAN USUAL. 283
20 HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED. 277
21 BUSIER THAN USUAL. 231
22 LOWER THAN AVERAGE. 226
23 GREATER THAN EXPECTED. 219
24 WARMER THAN USUAL. 203
25 SMALLER THAN USUAL. 196
26 LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED. 185
27 LONGER THAN NECESSARY. 184
28 LARGER THAN EXPECTED. 179
29 HOTTER THAN EXPECTED. 172
30 BETTER THAN AVERAGE. 168
31 QUIETER THAN USUAL. 168
32 WORSE THAN USUAL. 165
33 COOLER THAN NORMAL. 160
34 BIGGER THAN EXPECTED. 157
35 WORSE THAN USELESS. 157
36 LARGER THAN NORMAL. 153
37 BETTER THAN USUAL. 133
38 LARGER THAN USUAL. 131
39 SHORTER THAN USUAL. 131
40 COLDER THAN NORMAL. 125
41 BRIGHTER THAN USUAL. 122
42 WHITER THAN WHITE. 115
43 DRIER THAN NORMAL. 114
44 SLOWER THAN ANTICIPATED. 114
45 TOUGHER THAN EXPECTED. 113
46 CHEAPER THAN USUAL. 112
47 SMALLER THAN NORMAL. 112
48 BUSIER THAN NORMAL. 111
49 WORSE THAN ANTICIPATED. 111
50 BIGGER THAN USUAL. 106
51 EARLIER THAN EXPECTED. 103
52 COOLER THAN AVERAGE. 101
53 LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED. 92
54 FASTER THAN ANTICIPATED. 87
55 COLDER THAN AVERAGE. 87
56 SOFTER THAN EXPECTED. 86
57 WORSE THAN AVERAGE. 85
58 SLOWER THAN USUAL. 84
59 WETTER THAN NORMAL. 84
60 STRONGER THAN ANTICIPATED. 80
61 SHORTER THAN EXPECTED. 79
62 DRIER THAN AVERAGE. 78
63 GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED. 74
64 HOTTER THAN NORMAL. 71
65 COLDER THAN USUAL. 71
66 LONGER THAN NORMAL. 71
67 LOWER THAN PROJECTED. 71
68 QUICKER THAN EXPECTED. 71
69 DRIER THAN USUAL. 68
70 BETTER THAN ANTICIPATED. 67
71 FASTER THAN USUAL. 67
72 GREATER THAN NORMAL. 66
73 HIGHER THAN PROJECTED. 64
74 HARDER THAN ANTICIPATED. 63
75 LARGER THAN ANTICIPATED. 63
76 LATER THAN USUAL. 63
77 FASTER THAN LIGHT. 62
78 LIGHTER THAN USUAL. 62
79 WORSE THAN NORMAL. 61
80 SMALLER THAN ANTICIPATED. 60
81 STRONGER THAN USUAL. 60
82 HEAVIER THAN USUAL. 59
83 BIGGER THAN NORMAL. 57
84 TOUGHER THAN USUAL. 57
85 CLOSER THAN EXPECTED. 56
86 BETTER THAN GOOD. 56
87 BETTER THAN PERFECT. 56
88 FASTER THAN NORMAL. 55
89 LARGER THAN AVERAGE. 55
90 HARDER THAN EXPECTED. 54
91 LOUDER THAN USUAL. 54
92 SHORTER THAN NORMAL. 54
93 BETTER THAN NORMAL. 52
94 QUIETER THAN NORMAL. 52
95 THINNER THAN USUAL. 52
96 WEAKER THAN ANTICIPATED. 51
97 BRIGHTER THAN NORMAL. 49
98 HOTTER THAN USUAL. 49
99 SMALLER THAN AVERAGE. 47
100 HEAVIER THAN NORMAL. 46
Here are similar examples where it’s attributive:
The blue are cooler than average days,