Grammar JLPT Level N5 - Lesson 17

Structure of より～の方(ほう)が:

Verb (A) + より + Verb (B) + 方(ほう) + が

［い］Adjective (A) + より + ［い］Adjective (B) + 方(ほう) + が

［な］Adjective (A) + な + より + ［な］Adjective (B) + な + 方(ほう) + が

Noun (A) + より + Noun (B) + の + 方(ほう) + が

Details about より～の方(ほう)が:

より～のほうが can be thought of as similar to the grammar points たほうがいい, and ないほうがいい, in that it expresses that one thing is the 'better (A)', or 'more (A)'. However, unlike ほうがいい based expressions, any pair of adjectives, verbs, or nouns may be compared in this construction, so long as のほうが is followed by an adjective.
より translates roughly to 'than', or 'rather than' in this phrase.

田舎(いなか)に住(す)むより、都会(とかい)の方(ほう)がいい。
I like living in the city more than the countryside.
彼女(かのじょ)より、私(わたし)の方(ほう)が背(せ)が高(たか)い。
I am taller than my girlfriend.
映画(えいが)は怖(こわ)いより、面白(おもしろ)い方(ほう)が好(す)き。
I like funny movies more than scary movies.

From the examples listed here, we can see that より will always appear after the word that has the lower extent of (A), when used together with のほうが.

より～の方(ほう)が

Usage Notes for より～の方(ほう)が:

When より is used by itself, or when it is not linked directly to the previous word, it can seem like it has the opposite meaning. However, in these cases, のほうが just remains unsaid.

これがより高(たか)い。
This is more expensive. (Compared to other things in general)

In this example, because the より is after が, not before これ, it is easy to assume that これ is the thing that is lower. However, this が behaves in the same way as のほうが, meaning that これ itself is the more expensive thing, with より just being used like 'relatively' (compared to many other things).

Although の方(ほう)が is the most common construction, the particle を may sometimes replace が. This is especially true when used with markers of desire such as たい and ほしい. The primary difference between these two is that が emphasizes what a person wants or wants to do (the whole statement), while を emphasizes the item or action itself (regardless of the rest of the statement). With たい, both を and が will sound completely natural. However, with ほしい, が will be more natural, while を is accepted.

給料(きゅうりょう)がいい仕事(しごと)より、楽(たの)しい仕事(しごと)の方(ほう)をしたい。
I want to do a job that is fun, more than a job that pays better. (Natural Japanese)
この小(ちい)さいテレビより、その大(おお)きいテレビの方(ほう)を欲(ほ)しい。
I want that big TV rather than this small TV. (Natural Japanese, but が is more common)

This use of ほしい only applies to wanting items, as opposed to たい, which indicates the desire to 'do' something.