Nagourney and Hulse Mess Up Comparative-Superlative

Clinton May Be Hopeful, but Obama Rolls On

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and CARL HULSE

Published: May 2, 2008

Published: May 2, 2008

First, Mrs. Clinton must win the Indiana primary as a means of demonstrating to supporters and donors that she is building on momentum after Pennsylvania, they said, and she must run strongly enough in North Carolina to avoid the perception that she did no better than an even split. Then she must win in a state that catches people by surprise, like Oregon or Montana.

The Clinton campaign must also persuade the Democratic National Committee to seat at least some of the delegates she won in the disputed votes in Michigan and Florida. It must also persuade superdelegates to include the popular votes cast in Florida, and maybe in Michigan, in calculating the overall tally.

Without that latter success, it would be all but impossible for her to match Mr. Obama in the popular vote total. With two items, you use comparative; more than two, use the superlative: "without the last."