Erroneous English #4 - Than Me vs. Than I

transcript

Erroneous English Lesson #4By: H. E. Colby,

author of Top 150 Business English Ace Vocabulary Wordsa production of businessenglishace.com

Erroneous English Lesson #4

“Than me” or “Than I”

a production of businessenglishace.com

Erroneous English Lesson

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Which is correct?

Nathan eats slower than I or

Nathan eats slower than me.

It depends on the intended meaning.

First Meaning

Than is a conjunction.

Than´s function in the clause determines whether to use a

subject (I) or object (me) pronoun.

Conjunctions like than

introduce a subordinate (dependent) clause.

A dependent (subordinate)

clause has a subject and verb.

A dependent (subordinate)

clause has a subject and verb, but is not a complete sentence.

Usually, a clause introduced by than requires a subject

pronoun – I.

So, Nathan eats slower than

I (correct).

To make the right choice, lengthen your sentence.

Nathan eats slower than

I [do] not [me do].

Second Meaning

Hiko gave Rasheed more money than I or ...more

money than me?

Hiko gave Rasheed more money than me. (correct)

The meaning of this

sentence is…

Hiko gave Rasheed more

money than (she gave me).

In this lengthening of the sentence, the intended meaning is different.

Hiko gave Rasheed more money …I am not giving money…only Hiko is giving

money and Rasheed got more than me!

Hiko gave I money

(incorrect).

Hiko gave me…thus, you use

the object pronoun – me.

The question between using the subject and object pronoun is

important in written, formal English.

In “street English,” you will

probably hear “me” used most of the time.

Professor Colby, author of How to Be a Business English Ace, has been helping students reach their English goals for many years.

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Erroneous English #4 - Than Me vs. Than I

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