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The particle «ol» is used in comparisons to mean “than”. In English, a comparison is the form of the adjective or adverb that has the word “more” in front of it, or has the suffix “−er”. In Esperanto, a comparitive adjective or adverb has the word «pli» in front of it:
| pli bona ol | better than |
|---|---|
| pli rapide ol | faster than |
| pli mirinda ol | more wonderful than |
It is used with a few other adjectives and adverbs, too, with the same English translation:
| alia ol | other than |
|---|---|
| malsama ol | different than | malsame ol | differently than |
There is some argument whether “different than” is good English, or whether it should be “different from” (or, as some people say it, “different to”), but this form is the usual and grammatical one in Esperanto.
This word also converts the preposition «antaŭ» (“before”) into a conjunction «antaŭ ol», used with subordinate clauses: «antaŭ ol ni iris» = “before we went”.
It is also used to specify preferences: «Mi preferus legi libron ol televidi» = “I’d rather read a book than watch television”.
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