understand better vs understand it better

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Understand better' is more general and can be used when the context is clear, while 'understand it better' is more specific and requires a clear object to refer to.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 1086 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"understand better"

This phrase is used when the context is clear and there is no need to specify the object being understood.

Examples:

With more practice, you will understand better.
I need to understand better before making a decision.

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Just looking to understand better the people I'm in bed with...
It might at least help the public understand better what is going on.
I mean, just to help me understand better.
You understand better than most the pain a lie can inflict.
Detailed measurements of fine particulate matter at background locations should be made in order to understand better the impacts of this pollutant and to develop appropriate policies.
Detailed measurements of fine particulate matter at rural background locations should be made in order to understand better the impacts of this pollutant and to develop appropriate policies.
We also support your call for diversity and what that has meant since enlargement, which you understand better than anybody.
It's an old tradition here in the Public Defender's Office, is that we get processed so that we understand better what our clients go through.
I'm a would like to be able to understand better.
To understand better the challenges in the network and information security field, the Agency needs to analyse current and emerging risks.
I agree with you that we need fully coordinated research to understand better how to prevent or delay the onset of dementia.
There is one case that we have begun to understand better, and it's the case of fireflies.
To generate and analyse the vast amount of data needed to understand better the complex regulatory networks of thousands of genes and gene-products controlling important biological processes.
I certainly agree with all the honourable Members who have spoken that we need to get closer to the public and help them understand better what is going on in the European Union and in all its institutions.
We want to see better, to understand better and to act better.
The people do not just want to understand better what is going on in the institutions - they want greater participation.
It appears that this has helped us to understand better the dangers that we face.
Your rapporteur therefore proposes that Health Impact Assessments should be introduced for all major EU transport projects and policies, in order to understand better the potential health risks and benefits of different proposals:
But now, finding out that the things that I knew can help me to understand better how nature works, really, scientifically, it was like a... a new inspiration to my life, so I would say I fell in love with this field.
just talk to some other female firefighters, gather some information, understand better what you're getting yourself into.

Alternatives:

comprehend better
grasp better
get a better understanding
have a better understanding
improve understanding

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"understand it better"

This phrase is used when there is a specific object that needs to be understood better, and 'it' refers to that object.

Examples:

I need to read the manual to understand it better.
Can you explain the concept so I can understand it better?

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I think if I can see it all in one glance, I might understand it better.
There's too many unusual circumstances at work here - I want to try to understand it better before we send our people in.
If I said I was leaving for your sake, I thought maybe you could understand it better.
This clearly means that, before we begin discussing the Arab world and offering solutions, we must understand it better.
I understand it better with an otter than with a woman.
Perhaps you might understand it better if I read to you from this pamphlet,
Outside is the big world, and sometimes the little world succeeds... in reflecting the big one... so that we understand it better.
Meeting alternately in Europe and in countries of the ACP region in turn allows members of the Assembly to familiarise themselves with the situation on the ground and understand it better.
There is a saying in my local dialect which I will say in German because you speak German and will therefore understand it better: 'Gutheit ist ein Stück von Dummheit'.In other words, we are sometimes too efficient for our own good.

Alternatives:

understand the situation better
understand the topic better
understand the process better
understand the instructions better
understand the details better

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understand better vs understand it better