do much more than

[123xyz]

Hello everybody,

I am in need of assistance with expressing the notion of "to do much more than" - I was wondering if "делать много более чем" would be the appropriate translation. It sounds dubious to me, although I don't know exactly why.

Context examples:

- Почему она перекратила учить и начала проваливаться на тестах?
- Ей недавно понравился парень... и потом он ей сделал много более чем понравиться.

- К чему сводится твоя жизнь? К читанию книг и решанию кроссвордов?
- Нет, я в жизни делаю много более чем читать и решать кроссворды.

Thank you in advance

 

[Maroseika]

Делать много более, чем sounds a bit unnatural, but in some cases you can use it with больше instead of более:
На работе ему приходится делать много больше, чем другим.

For your second example I'd suggest the set expression далеко не только:
В жизни я занимаюсь далеко не только чтением книг и решением кроссвордов.
В жизни меня интересуют далеко не только (не одни) лишь книги и кроссворды.

As for your first example, I'm afraid it is not clear. Do you mean he did much more than pleased her? I.e. she doesn't just like, but maybe even loves him?

 

[123xyz]

Thank you for the reply. I was specifically interested in using this phrase with verbs, though, as in both of my examples. So, can an infinitive be put after "чем"? What about a conjugated verb? As for the first example, it's supposed to say that he did much more than get her to like him, and yes, potentially got her to love him, or alternatively he caused her despair, obsessed her thoughts, and the like - it's supposed to be ambiguous in terms of what exactly he did.

 

[Maroseika]

Thank you for the reply. I was specifically interested in using this phrase with verbs, though, as in both of my examples. So, can an infinitive be put after "чем"?

I cannot think up any way to do that, at least anything sounding natural. Maybe others can?

What about a conjugated verb?

The most natural seem to me verbal nouns (чтение, решение).

As for the first example, it's supposed to say that he did much more than get her to like him, and yes, potentially got her to love him, or alternatively he caused her despair, obsessed her thoughts, and the like - it's supposed to be ambiguous in terms of what exactly he did.

Well, maybe something like that:
Он не просто понравился ей, но сделал много больше (добился много большего): завладел всеми ее мыслями, сделал ее жизнь немыслимой без него.

 

[123xyz]

I see, thank you. As for the usage of более as opposed to больше, could you explain why you favour the latter? I figured they were synonyms. Is it because более is somewhat bookish/archaic in the sense of "more" anywhere else except within comparative adjective/adverb phrases?

 

[Maroseika]

Is it because более is somewhat bookish/archaic in the sense of "more" anywhere else except within comparative adjective/adverb phrases?

Exactly.

 

[igusarov]

So, can an infinitive be put after "чем"? What about a conjugated verb?

Sometimes it can, provided you also use some suitable intensifier (like "просто", "только"). But only sometimes.

"Он сделал гораздо больше, чем обещал".
"Настоящий друг сможет сделать гораздо больше, чем просто помочь советом".
"Учёному нужно уметь гораздо больше, чем просто подставлять числа в формулы".
"Я способен на большее, чем просто читать газеты и решать кроссворды".

 

[Sobakus]

- Почему она перестала учиться и начала заваливать тесты? (учить без дополнения = преподавать; прекратить = перестать намеренно)
- Ей недавно понравился парень... а потом и гораздо больше.

 

[123xyz]

Thank you for the additional replies. Meanwhile, I'm perplexed by the introduction of "гораздо" into my examples, as well as the new ones - is there any reason why "гораздо больше" rather than "много больше" was chosen?

Igusarov, I don't really know what you mean by "sometimes", i.e. how I should know when, but I understand the logic with the intensifiers.

 

[igusarov]

is there any reason why "гораздо больше" rather than "много больше" was chosen?

In this particular case I think it does better job conveying the meaning "much more, by far".

Igusarov, I don't really know what you mean by "sometimes", i.e. how I should know when

Unfortunately I can't put my finger on that either... My examples are constructed by inserting the phrase "гораздо больше, чем просто" in front of the last verb of a compound predicate ("составное глагольное сказуемое", marked green below). See:

"Ему удалось заинтересовать её" ==> "Ему удалось сделать гораздо больше, чем просто заинтересовать её".
"Учёному надо уметь писать статьи" ==> "Учёному надо уметь гораздо больше, чем просто писать статьи".

But then I tried doing the same thing to other random compound predicates, and found that this trick doesn't always work. For example:
"Он начал петь" ==> "Он начал гораздо больше, чем петь" - this one hardly makes any sense to me. Why - I don't know.

 

[Sobakus]

I'm perplexed by the introduction of "гораздо" into my examples, as well as the new ones - is there any reason why "гораздо больше" rather than "много больше" was chosen?

Много + comparative is markedly elevated, there's no chance of hearing it in an ordinary conversation. Намного is the neutral variant, while гораздо is the expressive one.