Five Comparisons

[Kapcha]

Hi,
Which is correct or preferred?

1. "Jack was quicker than I was" or "Jack was quicker than me" ?

2. "Anyways" or "Anyway" ?

3. "The answer is likely to be affirmative" or "The answer is likely affirmative" ?

4. "You have probably learned that grammar rule" or "You have probably learnt that grammar rule" ?

5. A member of a forum is a "forum member" or "forum’s member" ? Why?

I have found a form of these phrases in this forum and just wondered can we use an alternative form of each or not.
Even a brief answer would be great.
Thank you.

[Mister Micawber]

1. "Jack was quicker than I was" or "Jack was quicker than me" ?- Both OK; the 2nd is informal.

2. "Anyway". -- The '-s' form is considered substandard.

3. "The answer is likely to be affirmative" or "The answer is likely affirmative" ?-- Both are OK. The 1st is clearer.

4. "You have probably learned that grammar rule" or "You have probably learnt that grammar rule" ?-- Both are fine.

5. A member of a forum is a "forum member" or "forum’s member" ? Why?- 'A forum member' by custom.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Kapcha]

Thank you very much Mister Micawber. ♥

Where can I find more custom preferences like "forum member"? Even if you tell me its key-words, I'll google it.

As I'm learning American English, any other tips about choosing more proper/common ones in US would be appreciated.

[Mister Micawber]

I'm sorry, but the only way to discover custom is through experience: 'custom' is how most native speakers collocate. You will simply need to Google each forms and examine the hits:

forum member - About 125,000,000 results
forums member - About 54,200,000 results
forum's member - About 38,300 results

As you can see, very few write 'forum's member', because we usually use the Anglo-Saxon genitive ('-s') only with human possessors.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Kapcha]

Okay. Thanks. That makes sense.

But how do you think about these two sentences?

1. The forum members speak English.

2. The forum's members speak English.

I'm asking because I've heard from an American native English speaker that the second one seems more natural to his American ears! Even though he also mentioned that "A forum member" or "A club member" are the only natural forms!! He said he can't explain that. So I'm kind of confused!

[Mister Micawber]

I think he might be confused, too.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's