Elliptical Clause Eludes Friedman
Op-Ed Columnist
Flush With Energy
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 9, 2008 To be sure, Denmark is much smaller than us and was lucky to discover some oil in the North Sea.
“Than us” should be “than we” because “we” is subject of the elliptical clause “we [are].” If the writer thinks “than we” sounds funny, he should finish the clause and write “we are.”
Flush With Energy
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 9, 2008 To be sure, Denmark is much smaller than us and was lucky to discover some oil in the North Sea.
“Than us” should be “than we” because “we” is subject of the elliptical clause “we [are].” If the writer thinks “than we” sounds funny, he should finish the clause and write “we are.”
posted by twinkobie at
8:20 AM
1 Comments:
Actually, the word "than" by definition functions as either a preposition or a subordinating conjunction. Therefore, the use of the word "us" as the object of the preposition is grammatically valid.
Where is this nation going if even our keenest and critical grammarians are out of touch?
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