英语语法：29 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is which pronoun to use after the word "than, as in "Nobody is more excited about the Grammar Girl book than I!"Or is it "than me"? Listen up because guest-writer Charles Carson is going to explain.

A few years ago around Easter, I saw a television ad for Cadbury Creme Eggs that said of the Cadbury Bunny, “No bunny knows Easter better than him.” While I appreciated the obvious word play—substituting no bunny knows for nobody knows—I was struck by the pronoun used at the end of the sentence. Remember, pronouns, such as him and he, come in different forms depending on whether the person or thing is the subject, the one doing the action, or the object, the target of the action. He is a subject pronoun, and him is an object pronoun.

With that in mind, let's look at the slogan in question: No bunny knows Easter better than him. I was taught long ago that than in this instance is a conjunction;* that is, it connects two complete sentences. Here it connects the first sentence, No bunny knows Easter better, to an implied second sentence, the Cadbury Bunny knows Easter to form the entire thought No bunny knows Easter better than he [knows Easter]. Using this interpretation¹, I believed that the sentence required the subject pronoun he--No bunny knows Easter better than he--not the objective pronoun him, because the pronoun took the place of the subject in the implied second sentence: the bunny.

A Grammar Rumble²

Little did I know that I'd stumbled into a controversy³ that’s been hotly debated since the eighteenth century: Is than always a conjunction, or is it sometimes a preposition? Remember, a preposition is a word that combines with a noun or pronoun to form a phrase that modifies an object or action, as in the prepositional phrases before class, by the book, and behind him. The noun or pronoun coupled with a preposition is called the "object of the preposition." So in the example behind him, the word him is the object of the preposition behind. And when you're using a pronoun as the object of the preposition, it must be in the object case. In other words, you use object pronouns such as him, her, and us. Behind him; behind her; behind us. Some people argue that than in the slogan No bunny knows Easter better than him is a preposition and, therefore, him is the correct pronoun. Let's call them "prepositionists."†

Conjunctionists

But there are also people who argue that than is a conjunction. Let's call them "conjunctionists." They maintain that the case of the pronoun after the word than is determined⁴ by its role in that implied second sentence we talked about before--The Cadbury Bunny knows Easter. The conjunctionists believe the correct sentence would be No bunny knows Easter better than he.

Here's another example. Conjunctionists would argue that the sentences Aardvark likes Squiggly more than I and Aardvark likes Squiggly more than me are both correct but have entirely⁵ different meanings. Both use than as a conjunction, but when you use the subject pronoun I, you're saying Aardvark likes Squiggly more than I [like Squiggly], and when you use the object pronoun me, you're saying Aardvark likes Squiggly more than [Aardvark likes me]. If than is a preposition, however, you would always use the objective pronoun me and then the same sentence would mean both things--you don't care for Squiggly as much as Aardvark does AND Aardvark prefers Squiggly to you. It would be unclear which of the two meanings were intended. Avoiding ambiguity⁶ awards a point to the conjunctionists. ]

The conjunctionists also have history on their side. According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage (1), than has been used as a subordinating conjunction since Old English. It didn’t start appearing as a preposition followed by an object pronoun until the sixteenth century. Examples can be found in the works of Shakespeare and Swift.‡

Prepositionists

However, a thorn in the side of conjunctionists is the phrase than whom; both sides of the debate agree than who just sounds wrong and recommend than whom in all cases, as in the question You were faster than whom? Whom is an object pronoun, so if than whom is always correct, why not than him and than us? Score one for the people who think than is sometimes a preposition.

Also in support of the prepositionist, Arnold Zwicky (2), on the American Dialect Society listserv, points out that it’s possible in informal speech to “strand” than at the end of a sentence, as in He's the one who I'm faster than. And, while it’s sometimes possible to end a sentence with a preposition, it’s not possible to end it with a conjunction.

Who Wins?

So the battle continues: the conjunctionists have history and the avoidance of ambiguity on their side, while the prepositionists have than whom and several counterexamples on theirs. Who wins? I believe Ken⁷ Wilson sums it up best in The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (3):

Than is both a subordinating conjunction, as in She is wiser than I am, and a preposition, as in She is wiser than me.... Since the following verb am is often dropped or “understood,” we regularly hear than I and than me. Some commentators⁸ believe that the conjunction is currently more frequent than the preposition, but both are unquestionably Standard.

So remember, than he and than him are both defensible, but not all grammar mavens feel this way. Therefore, I would avoid the prepositional use in formal settings, such as a research paper or job interview—and I would argue, advertising⁹, but Cadbury obviously feels otherwise. The usage note in The American Heritage Dictionary (4) agrees: “The writer who risks a sentence like Mary is taller than him in formal writing must be prepared to defend the usage against objections of critics.” Unfortunately, defending your grammar during an interview is not the best way to make a good impression.

The quick and dirty tip to determining which pronoun is appropriate after the conjunction than is to figure out the pronoun’s role in the implied sentence by mentally filling in the missing words. Are you trying to say Aardvark likes Squiggly more than I [like Squiggly] or Aardvark likes Squiggly more than [Aardvark likes] me? Sometimes, even if you use the correct pronoun, you may find sentences like I'm taller than he sound too formal in casual setting. If so, you can use a verb to complete the implied sentence, saying instead, I'm taller than he is. With a verb present, the choice is obvious: subject pronouns are the only option. After all, both sides of the than he/than him debate agree that No bunny knows Easter better than he does.

Administrative¹⁰

Thanks to Charles Carson, managing editor of the journal American Speech, for guest-writing this episode.

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1 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

2 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

10 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。