Than
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"Than" is a grammatical particle serving as both conjunction and preposition in the English language. It introduces a comparison, and as such is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.
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[edit] Usage
[edit] Than\Then
In printed text, than and then are often confused. This is generally a typographical or spelling error rather than a genuine error of usage.
[edit] Conjunction\Preposition Debate
Usage prescriptionists tend to follow early grammarian Robert Lowth (1710-1787) in his assertion that than is a conjunction, and that it therefore governs the nominative case. Yet prior to Lowth's asserion, than was far more commonly taken to govern the oblique case, more commonly referred to today as the "objective case" [1]. The usage of many notable English writers is consistent with this view, e.g. William Shakespeare, whose 1600 play Julius Caesar contains the line:
- A man no mightier than thyself or me. . .
and Samuel Johnson, who wrote:
- No man had ever more discernment than him, in finding out the ridiculous.
In actual usage, than functions as both conjunction and preposition; when it is used as a conjunction, it governs the nominative case, and when a preposition, the oblique case.
To determine the case of a pronoun following "than" observing the stricter rules, a writer must look for extra understood words and determine how they relate to the pronoun.
- Examples
(Please provide authoritative reference for these style opinions, e.g. Warriner.)
- You are a better swimmer than she.
- represents "You are a better swimmer than she is."
- therefore, "You are a better swimmer than her" is arguably incorrect usage.
- They like you more than her.
- represents "They like you more than they like her."
- therefore, "They like you more than she" would instead mean "They like you more than she likes you".
[edit] References
- ^ Crystal, Cambridge Encyclopeida of the English Language 2nd ed., p. 203.
