mehr or mehrere?

Q: mehr or mehrere?

Both sound like 'more', but they say different things: mehr compares one quantity with another and never changes form. mehrere neither counts nor compares - it simply means 'several', at least three, and takes adjective endings.

Both sound like 'more', but they say different things: mehr compares one quantity with another and never changes form. mehrere neither counts nor compares - it simply means 'several', at least three, and takes adjective endings.

mehr

Compares one quantity with another. Never inflected, often with als.

Ich habe mehr Zeit als gestern.I have more time than yesterday.

mehrere

An indefinite number from about three upwards, with no comparison at all. It inflects: mehrere Bücher, mit mehreren Kollegen.

Ich habe mehrere Bewerbungen geschrieben.I wrote several applications.

The mistake

Ich habe mehr Freunde eingeladen, nicht nur einen.

Ich habe mehrere Freunde eingeladen, nicht nur einen.

The point is a number, not a comparison. 'mehr Freunde' immediately raises the question: more than whom? If you just mean 'several', you need mehrere.

Rule of thumb

If an als follows (or could follow), it is mehr. Otherwise mehrere.

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