Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
examination; careful inspection; debate
propensity
attendant
information
canvass
full quiz correct answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   Album   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

You are shorter than he or him?


Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Opposite of Overdue | Is it any wonder that so many fail to make the grade?
listening exercisestell a friend
Message
Author
You are shorter than he or him? #1 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 14:16 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

You are shorter than ( he, him). Which is the correct one?
Steve88
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 22 Mar 2008
Posts: 18

You are shorter than he or him? #2 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 14:43 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Both are correct.
Iraqi
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 23 Jun 2009
Posts: 128

Learn all about English adverbs in this amusing storyEnglish grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!Start exploring the English language today! Subscribe to free email English course
You are shorter than he or him? #3 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 14:49 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Oops, sorry for the mess :shock:
This message can be deleted. Thx.
Violino
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Posts: 66
Location: Poland Gdynia

You are shorter than he or him? #4 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 14:50 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

You are shorter than him.
You are shorter than he is.
Violino
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Posts: 66
Location: Poland Gdynia

You are shorter than he or him? #5 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 16:04 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Iraqi wrote:
Both are correct.


Could you explain why both are correct?
Steve88
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 22 Mar 2008
Posts: 18

You are shorter than he or him? #6 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 16:07 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Iraqi wrote:
Both are correct.


Could you explain why both are correct?
Steve88
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 22 Mar 2008
Posts: 18

You are shorter than he or him? #7 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 17:45 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Violino wrote:
You are shorter than him.
You are shorter than he is.


I agree with you

I dont think "you are shorter than he" is so correct
Be.emily
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 40
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

You are shorter than he or him? #8 (permalink) Sun Jul 05, 2009 19:32 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

they are not both correct, as a matter of fact. my dad got his masters in linguistics, and so from a young age, he taught me the correct usage.

here is your answer: "You are shorter than him," is NOT correct, but everybody says it anways, and hardly anybody knows it's not correct.

the correct way to say it is "You are shorter than he (is)," but nobody actually says that.

so in conclusion... if you want to be correct, say "you are shorter than he." but if you want to fit in, say "you are shorter than him."

: )
Arasam22
New Member


Joined: 05 Jul 2009
Posts: 3

You are shorter than he or him? #9 (permalink) Sun Jul 05, 2009 20:25 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Arasam22 wrote:
they are not both correct, as a matter of fact. my dad got his masters in linguistics, and so from a young age, he taught me the correct usage.

here is your answer: "You are shorter than him," is NOT correct, but everybody says it anways, and hardly anybody knows it's not correct.

the correct way to say it is "You are shorter than he (is)," but nobody actually says that.

so in conclusion... if you want to be correct, say "you are shorter than he." but if you want to fit in, say "you are shorter than him."

: )

Could some native speaker say a word about it, please?
Because it's not what I've learned...

By the way, Arasam22, it's very upset nobody's taught you that we start new sentense with a capital letter :wink:
Violino
You can meet me at english-test.net


Joined: 23 Feb 2007
Posts: 66
Location: Poland Gdynia

You are shorter than he or him? #10 (permalink) Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:05 am   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Steve88 wrote:
You are shorter than ( he, him). Which is the correct one?
Hello Steve88,

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. You are shorter than he.
In my opinion, only people who are blindly prescriptive will insist on this usage. The use of "he" in this sentence will tend to sound excessively formal and stilted in most contexts. If for no other reason than that, it might be seen as being incorrect when used in an informal context. In addition, since the word "than" can be used as both a conjunction and as a preposition, some may argue that it is actually grammatically incorrect since we use object pronouns after prepositions.

2. You are shorter than him.
Generally speaking, it is perfectly acceptable and normal to use "him" this way in everyday English. Some will ague that it is also formally grammatically correct because they view "than" as a preposition in the sentence. Examples of an object pronoun being used after the word "than" can be found in literary works by the likes of Shakespeare and Faulkner, for example. This sort of usage is nothing new in English.

3. You are shorter than he is.
This may often be a good alternative for either 1 or 2 because there should be no question that the word "than" is a conjunction in this version of the sentence. It will generally satisfy everybody's taste in grammar. :lol:

Arasam22 wrote:
My dad got his masters in linguistics, and so from a young age, he taught me the correct usage.
Your dad sounds like a prescriptivist. How does he react when you use the word "anyways"? :wink:

______________________________
“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” ~ Chomsky
Esl_Expert
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 969
Location: USA

You are shorter than he or him? #11 (permalink) Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:43 am   You are shorter than he or him?
 

In my school years we were taught two variants: short and long, when comparing two objects.
e.g. You are shorter than he is = he is shorter than you
e.g. I dance better than you dance/do = I dance better than you
e.g. My dress is more beautiful than your dress is = My dress is more beautiful than yours.
e.g. He is smarter than I am = He is smarter than me.
e.g. We can paint faster than you can (paint) = We can paint faster than you.

The first (long) variant is more formal and is not used as widely as the other (short) one. However, both are correct, as far as I remember.

"You are shorter than he” does not sound right to me. As the Esl Expert mentioned above, personal pronouns are normally subjects in a sentence and are not to be used on their own after prepositions.
Natasha81
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Posts: 108
Location: Sydney, Australia

You are shorter than he or him? #12 (permalink) Mon Jul 06, 2009 19:42 pm   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Hi I read in an English book that even some British linguists are unsure about what to say...
I will try to find that book so I can write here what they have written about sentences like that.
/Maria
MariaEbb
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 234
Location: Sweden

You are shorter than he or him? #13 (permalink) Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:57 am   You are shorter than he or him?
 

ahhh now i feel like a jerk. :(

btw... i am a native speaker, and my shift key doesn't work very well...
Arasam22
New Member


Joined: 05 Jul 2009
Posts: 3

Please HELP, questions about Apple iphone? #14 (permalink) Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:28 am   Please HELP, questions about Apple iphone?
 

will i have to pay more per month than what i'm paying now? If you don't want an AT&T plan, you can by an unlocked iPhone without the contract, these will not have a warranty however. Prices fluctuate but you can see a huge list here <a href=http://www.all-iphone.com/refurbished-t-mobile.html>refurbished t mobile</a>

Best Regards
PussyandCat
New Member


Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Posts: 1
Location: Sierra Leone

You are shorter than he or him? #15 (permalink) Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:07 am   You are shorter than he or him?
 

Quote:
"You are shorter than he is" or "You are shorter than him" ?

If you fill in a official exam or a TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS paper you will find that "You are shorter than he is" is the correct answer and bring you the full mark; while generally speaking people will say "You are shorter than him" though it's wrong in grammar.
Truonglam
New Member


Joined: 02 Jul 2009
Posts: 3

Display posts from previous:   
Opposite of Overdue | Is it any wonder that so many fail to make the grade?
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2
Latest topics on English Forums
Difference between effected and affectedOrder of words: Please tell me what did prof. Jon write.'Is there a special word for people who are between 30 to 50'?Difference between 'must' and 'have to'The word Agnostic'me' istead of 'I'would you like living in...?Tense question (about Present Perfect/Progressive-Continuous)Usage of "have had together"Exercise: I know how I (spend) the money my father (give) me last Christmas.Sentence: I will ask to Miss Jane and I will call you back after I ask her.Sentence: The transfer button is broken and I'm going to...Usage of expressions: Enough's is enough, That's all, Just about, only just...

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail