Than
Encyclopedia
Than is a grammatical particle
analyzed as both a conjunction
and a preposition in the English language
. It introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparative
s and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it measures the force of an adjective
or similar description between two predicate
s.
, than is exclusively a conjunction and therefore takes either nominative
(or subjective) or oblique
(or objective) pronouns depending on context, rather than exclusively oblique pronouns as prepositions do. William Shakespeare
's 1600 play Julius Caesar
has an instance of an oblique pronoun following than where the nominative is also possible:
The instance is anomalous to Shakespeare's writing, which largely is consistent with the English-language presciptionists and Robert Lowth. Samuel Johnson
wrote the following:
In simple comparisons in contemporary English, than often takes an oblique pronoun, which lexicographers and usage commentators regard as prepositional use and as standard.
The case of a pronoun
following than can be determined by context.
Examples:
Grammatical particle
In grammar, a particle is a function word that does not belong to any of the inflected grammatical word classes . It is a catch-all term for a heterogeneous set of words and terms that lack a precise lexical definition...
analyzed as both a conjunction
Grammatical conjunction
In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each...
and a preposition in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparative
Comparative
In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than,...
s and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it measures the force of an adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
or similar description between two predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
s.
Confusion between than and then
In writing, than and then are often erroneously interchanged. In standard English, then refers to time, while than is used in comparisons.Case of pronouns following than
According to the view of many English-language prescriptionists and of influential 18th-century grammarian Robert LowthRobert Lowth
Robert Lowth FRS was a Bishop of the Church of England, Oxford Professor of Poetry and the author of one of the most influential textbooks of English grammar.-Life:...
, than is exclusively a conjunction and therefore takes either nominative
Nominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
(or subjective) or oblique
Oblique case
An oblique case in linguistics is a noun case of synthetic languages that is used generally when a noun is the object of a verb or a preposition...
(or objective) pronouns depending on context, rather than exclusively oblique pronouns as prepositions do. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's 1600 play Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
has an instance of an oblique pronoun following than where the nominative is also possible:
- A man no mightier than thyself or me...
The instance is anomalous to Shakespeare's writing, which largely is consistent with the English-language presciptionists and Robert Lowth. Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
wrote the following:
- No man had ever more discernment than him, in finding out the ridiculous.
In simple comparisons in contemporary English, than often takes an oblique pronoun, which lexicographers and usage commentators regard as prepositional use and as standard.
The case of a pronoun
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
following than can be determined by context.
Examples:
- You are a better swimmer than she.
- The sentence is equivalent to "You are a better swimmer than she is."
- They like you more than her.
- The sentence is equivalent to "They like you more than they like her."
- The sentence "They like you more than she" may instead mean "They like you more than she likes you."