more quickly (quicker) the local traffic reporter stated that the traffic was moving more quickly now that the accident was removed.

more hot (hotter) the weatherman noted that the increased temperatures would make it more hot this afternoon.

The use of the word more should be used less!

Reply from Paul: Thanks for your comment, David. I haven’t particularly noticed a trend toward using the comparative case less often, but I’ll listen more carefully for that in the future.

My philosophy is that “more” or “most” with the root word is never incorrect, and there are times when merely adding “er” or “est” to the root word is incorrect (such as stupidest, which Sherry recently wrote about). As far as the example you mentioned, my using “more ripe” instead of “riper,” the terms “riper” and “ripest” sound a little awkward. I’m not saying that they’re wrong, but it’s that awkwardness that led me to use “more ripe.”