Is it grammatically correct to say "better able to" or "able to better"?
This applies to any usage I can think of, but the sentence that prompted this question is:
Users are [phrase] understand and improve their health.
Which is correct?
Users are better able to understand and improve their health.
Users are able to better understand and improve their health.
When I attempt to break down the sentence and think about each part, both uses seem as though they are technically correct. Both are saying that the users are able to understand and improve their health more so than before.
It almost reminds me of the distributive rule in math. Both are saying something is able to be done, and both are adding a qualifier to the something that is able to be done.
Better able to something == better( able to( something ) )
Able to better == able to( better( something ) )
Is "better able to" like saying something was able to be done before, but now it is easier to do; while "able to better" like saying something wasn't able to be better done before, but now it is?
Regardless of my rambling thoughts, which is correct?
Should you say:
"Users are able to better understand and improve their health."
or
"Users are better able to understand and improve their health."
Best Answer
Your mention of the Distributive Property piqued my interest. Consider the two cases presented:
Using your notation above, I see this:
Depending on the position of better, it modifies either the word understand, or the phrase able to. In the first case, only the user's understanding is made better, and this increased understanding is inferred as a cause of the user's improved health. In the second case, both the user's understanding and capacity to improve health are made better. It's a small distinction, but it is there.
As for which is correct, it depends on where you want the emphasis of the word better. Do you only want it to apply to understanding, or to capacity for improved health as well?