I heard our 13-year-old son say something today that ended with the phrase “than me” (as in, he is taller than me or she is smarter than me). It reminded me of a debate that I thought I’d touch on briefly today.
Grammarians have been arguing for years on whether “than” always operates as a conjunction (than I) or if it occasionally operates as a preposition (than me).
In the first case, people argue that “than” connects two sentences. For example, the statement “John is taller than I” is actually two sentences: “John is taller” and the implied “I am”. “Than” has operated as a conjunction since it entered the English language.
In the latter case, pronouns that act as the object of the proposition always occur in the object case (e.g. beside her, after him, between them). Hence, the sentence would be “John is taller than me”. “Than” has acted as a preposition only recently, but still for several centuries.
So which is right? Neither, really. It depends on who you’re talking to. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, in some cases, using “than” as a preposition causes confusion. In the sentence “Mary loves me more than anyone”, does Mary love more than she loves anyone else or does she love me more than anyone else loves me?
As well, “than” should always be treated as a proposition when “who” is the pronoun in question. You would never write, “You’re taller than who?”; it should always be “You’re taller than whom?”
Personally, I get around the debate by trying to reword my sentences:
- John is taller than I am.
- Susie likes turkey more than I do.
- Jordan is better at sports than I am.
I offend fewer people and my meaning is always clear. :)
Where do you fit in the debate? Are you a conjuncitonist or a prepositionist?