# She was 25 years younger than he/him



## loureed4

Hi,

   First of all, congratulations on this magnificent website and forums !

   I´d like to ask a question, I´m spanish, and I´m reading a book and don´t understand this:

   "She was 25 years younger than* he*" ,  . My question is, why not: "She was 25 years younger than him"


I thank you inn advance !!


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## murciana

Hola!
Para mí también es como tú dices, con *him *(object pronoun). A menos que sea un error y fuera *me*.
_She's younger than he is.
She's younger than him.
_Saludos


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## grubble

It is an abbreviation, the preposition qualifies the (implicit) verb phrase not the pronoun:

"She was 25 years younger than* he *was"
...................|
...................|
...................V
"She was 25 years younger than* he was*"
...................|
...................|
...................V
"She was 25 years younger than* he*"


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## loureed4

Thanks both for your replies !!

Very enlightening !

But still a tiny dobut: The sentece Murcia said: "She was 25 younger than him" , is not correct?

Grubble, You explain things in a very clear way, your reply is perfect but still have the doubt about "him" 

Thanks !!


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## kayokid

Hello. In modern colloquial AmE (everyday language) the sentence is 'She was 25 years younger than him.'

As has been pointed out the "correct" version is 'She was 25 years younger than he was.' If you include the 'was' at the end the subject pronoun *must* be used.


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## loureed4

Thanks Kayokid for your time.

These forums are just great !!

So, "They had more money than we (had)" ...........this doesn´t make sense to me, I´m used to read, listen: ".....than us"
I mean, it sounds totally strange from my point of view "They had more money than we"   !!

But Anyway I think I get the point.

Thanks a lot !!


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## kayokid

This type of sentence sounds odd with the subject pronoun alone. If I use a subject pronoun I always use a verb at the end to complete the thought:
They had more money than we* had*.
or
They had more money than we *did.*


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## loureed4

I got that Kayokid, but I appreciate your time anyway, very much !!

It makes sense with "had" or "did" at the end.

Thanks !!


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## hankquique

Both are correct. 


Grubble explained very well saying that you are omitting the verb and that is how you know that you use "he" in this case. 


In our daily lives, we normally use "him" and that is why using "he" sounds awkward to you. 


For example, when someone asks, "who is it," I would normally say, "it's me." Yet the correct grammar would be, "it is I." But everyone understands  "it's me."


In a nutshell, since the common usage is "him" then "him" is also correct. Yet if we want the proper grammar then you would use "he."


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## loureed4

Hi Hankquique,

   Didn´t know that ! . Thanks for your time

Best Regards !


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## blasita

Hello.

Well, I know that the object pronoun is normally used, but sorry, it's not clear to me: is it right just with the subject pronoun, i.e. 'She was 25 years younger than he' or do you need to add '... than he _was_'?

Thanks.


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## kayokid

Hello blasita,

As far as I know a verb form is not required but at times the sentence just does not sound 'finished' to me, personally, without it. In formal speech/writing I would always include it (although that is only my own personal style). In informal speech/writing I would use the object forms without a verb at the end.


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## blasita

Thanks a lot for your reply, Kayokid.

Sorry, this may be a stupid question, but I don't understand this (they say different things):

_Cambridge Grammar of English_: 





> When 'than' is followed by a personal pronoun acting as the head of a noun phrase, the object forms (me, him, her, us, etc.) are used: My sister is prettier than me/*than I am.* *My sister is prettier than I.



But _Swan_:





> 'She's older than me' (informal). She is older* than I* *(*am*)* (formal).



Saludos.


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## luo.mai

blasita said:


> Hello.
> 
> Well, I know that the object pronoun is normally used, but sorry, it's not clear to me: is it right just with the subject pronoun, i.e. 'She was 25 years younger than he' or do you need to add '... than he _was_'?
> 
> Thanks.



"She was 25 years younger than he" is grammatically correct by itself; adding "was" at the end is _optional_. However, as others have said, the sentence without "was" may sound old-fashioned or pedantic.


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## helenduffy

"Than him" is not correct, but it IS what most people say.  Take your pick: speak correctly or speak like everyone else do!


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## kayokid

blasita said:


> Thanks a lot for your reply, Kayokid.
> 
> Sorry, this may be a stupid question, but I don't understand this (they say different things):
> 
> _Cambridge Grammar of English_:
> 
> But _Swan_:
> 
> Saludos.



I don't really follow the 'Cambridge' statement myself...

This is how I know the language to work:
'She is prettier than I am,' or 'She is prettier than I.' (This is the grammatically correct, formal way of expressing the idea.)

'She is prettier than me.' (This is how it is said in everyday/informal AmE speech and writing.)


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## luo.mai

blasita said:


> Sorry, this may be a stupid question, but I don't understand this:
> 
> _Cambridge Grammar of English_:  When 'than' is followed by a personal pronoun acting as the head of a noun phrase, the object forms (me, him, her, us, etc.) are used: My sister is prettier than me/than I am.



Cambridge here is not _prescribing_ proper grammar (the English-speaking world has no equivalent to the RAE) but simply describing how the language is (commonly) used. Swan acknowledges the same usage as Cambridge, but also allows the more outdated (but formally correct) form.


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## blasita

kayokid said:


> I don't really follow the 'Cambridge' statement myself...
> 
> This is how I know the language to work:
> 'She is prettier than I am,' or 'She is prettier than I.' (This is the grammatically correct, formal way of expressing the idea.)
> 
> 'She is prettier than me.' (This is how it is said in everyday/informal AmE speech and writing.)



Thank you again. I understand that both are grammatically correct then. Un saludo.



luo.mai said:


> Cambridge here is not _prescribing_ proper grammar (the English-speaking world has no equivalent to the RAE) but simply describing how the language is (commonly) used. Swan acknowledges the same usage as Cambridge, but also allows the more outdated (but formally correct) form.



Thank you, Luo.mai. The fact is that this sentence: "My sister is prettier than I" is crossed out, and this is what I cannot understand. It is a grammar book so if the sentence is crossed out, it must mean it is incorrect, isn't it?


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## luo.mai

blasita said:


> Thank you, Luo.mai. The fact is that this sentence: "My sister is prettier than I" is crossed out, and this is what I cannot understand. It is a grammar book so if the sentence is crossed out, it must mean it is incorrect, isn't it?


That's disappointing that Cambridge crossed that sentence out; they really shouldn't have. One would certainly _hope_ a grammar book would only cross out sentences that are incorrect, but here Cambridge has failed you.


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## blasita

luo.mai said:


> That's disappointing that Cambridge crossed that sentence out; they really shouldn't have. One would certainly _hope_ a grammar book would only cross out sentences that are incorrect, but here Cambridge has failed you.



OK, thank you for your reply, Luo.


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## duvija

helenduffy said:


> "Than him" is not correct, but it IS what most people say. Take your pick: speak correctly or speak like everyone else does!



OK, so if most people say it, then it gets to be right! I'm all for it. 

(Wouldn't it be 'does' in your sentence? Or even nothing?) Now I'm confused.


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## rinmach

duvija said:


> (Wouldn't it be 'does' in your sentence? Or even nothing?) Now I'm confused.


You're correct; it'd be either "speak like everyone else," "speak like everyone else does (technically incorrect)", or "speak as everyone else does (correct)."


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## blasita

I still can't understand why such a respectable grammar book (published in 2006) says that this sentence: _My sister is prettier than I  _is incorrect.


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## SevenDays

blasita said:


> I still can't understand why such a respectable grammar book (published in 2006) says that this sentence: _My sister is prettier than I  _is incorrect.



I don't know if the_ Cambridge Grammar of English_ is descriptive or prescriptive, but what it says about _*My sister is prettier than me/I*_ is strictly based on straight-forward syntactic analysis:
*My sister is prettier than me*
If this construction is used, then "than" functions as a preposition and "me" as its object. A "noun phrase" is that word (here, "me") which fills the syntactic function of _object of a preposition_.
*My sister is prettier than I am*
Here, "than" functions as a conjunction whose job is to join two clauses of equal weight; since a form of the verb "be" ("is") appears in the first clause (_My sister is_), then a form of "be" must also appear in the second clause (_I am_). If you say "My sister is prettier than I," you leave the two clauses unbalanced (because the verb isn't included in the second clause). And syntax can't tell if "than" is a preposition (in which case "me" is needed) or a conjunction (in which case "am" is needed). Add "am," and you restore balance and nail down "than" as a conjunction. (Some says "am" is understood in "than I" and therefore not needed; it may be understood _semantically_, but not so_ syntactically_.) 
Syntax can't tell you to choose either "than me" or "than I am;" it can only explain what happens _syntactically_ when "me" or "I" is used. Both constructions are widely used in literature. It's fair to say, however, that in a formal context, the expectation is to see "than I am;" it is, however, a _usage_ expectation rather than a_ syntactic _expectation. In an informal context, "than me" is preferred.
Cheers


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## blasita

Great explanation. Thank you very much, Seven. I think it's prescriptive, but I may be wrong.

Por mi parte, creo que tengo una mente demasiado 'sintáctica'. Un saludo.


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## evath

I did not read all the answers given to you, but those I did read were only partly right, 
or were dead wrong as to the reasons why the use of one pronoun over the other.

In a nutshell, the rule is a very easy one to learn:
Use the subject prounouns “*I, he, she, we, they*” _when *the person(s) is/are the subject* of a sentence_. 
Use “*me*, *him, her, us, them*” _when *the person(s) is/are the object* of the sentence_.

Examples of testing whether, or not, you are using the right form of the pronoun:

You would never (correctly) say, 
"*Him *_was 25 years older than Mary." (She)_;
you would say, *
"HE*_was 25 years old than *SHE."* (not *her*)_.
Hence, what is correct is: 
"_Mary was 25 years younger than _*HE*."

In the same way, you would not say: 
"*My mother and me* _go to bed by 8_:00," 
because you would never say, 
"*Me*_ go to bed by 8:00._" 
You would always say, 
"*I* _go to bed by 8:00_."

And you would never say:
"_You can believe my mother and_ *I*,"
because you would never say, 
"_You can believe _*I*."  
It would always be 
"_You can believe _*ME*."

Hope this clarifies this for you and anyone else with this question.
Now, as to MY vs. MINE ;-D 




loureed4 said:


> Hi,
> 
> First of all, congratulations on this magnificent website and forums !
> 
> I´d like to ask a question, I´m spanish, and I´m reading a book and don´t understand this:
> 
> "She was 25 years younger than* he*" ,  . My question is, why not: "She was 25 years younger than him"
> 
> 
> I thank you inn advance !!


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## Mackinder

As an alternative option, you could also say "She was 25 years his senior" 

Greetings.


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## Almighty Egg

Ginazec said:


> As an alternative option, you could also say "She was 25 years his senior"



You mean "She was 25 years his *junior*". She's younger, remember. 

Cheers.


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## More od Solzi

*than *_preposition_ 


> *:* when compared to  — used with pronouns in the objective case (me, her, him, them, and us) in the same way that the conjunction than is used with pronouns in the subjective case (I, she, he, they, and we)  ▪ _She is younger than me. [=she is younger than I (am)]__  ▪ I'm taller than him. [=I'm taller than he (is)]_
> *usage* Some people consider the use of _than _as a preposition to be incorrect. It is very common, however, especially in the phrase _than me_.



Merriam Webster's Learner's Dictionary
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/than[2]


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## Mackinder

Almighty Egg said:


> You mean "She was 25 years his *junior*". She's younger, remember.
> 
> Cheers.



Oh, right; geez, I'm so ditzy lol 

Thank you!


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