Grammar Question

packfan20

I'm reading The Sea of Tranquility and the sentence I just read says "I'm saved by the appearance of my brother, Asher, who comes bounding down the stairs.  He's a year younger than me..."

Should it not be "he's a year younger than I" As in "He's a year younger than I am."?  I've seen this a handful of times recently.  Am I wrong or is this becoming acceptable. 

EliStar

I don't understand why "a year younger than me" would be incorrect. But I may be wrong, too. LOL

Menrandes

Hmm...
I think I need a refresher course on grammar.
But usually I give bad grammar a pass in first person novels, as I imagine that is what is in the character's head. 
And my head is full of bad grammar.  I think a book with me as the main character narrating would be riddled with mistakes.

packfan20

EliStar said:

I don't understand why "a year younger than me" would be incorrect. But I may be wrong, too. LOL

Yeah...I haven't had an English class in 13 years so...it's quite possible my muddled brain is confused.

RevJen

It's correct.  "I" belongs in the beginning of a sentence such as "I am going to kill someone if I don't get ice cream," or "You and I are no longer speaking to each other."

"Me" goes at the end of the sentence.  "I think there is a ghost talking to me."

packfan20

RevJen said:

It's correct.  "I" belongs in the beginning of a sentence such as "I am going to kill someone if I don't get ice cream," or "You and I are no longer speaking to each other."

"Me" goes at the end of the sentence.  "I think there is a ghost talking to me."

This I agree with.  But in the sentence I wrote, it's a different context. Similar to "He and I are eating ice cream", not "He and ME are eating ice cream."  Okay, hard to get my point across on the computer....

RevJen

I don't think it's a different context at all.  "He is a year younger than me," is fine.  Yours of "He is a year younger than I am" is also fine.  There's nothing wrong with the first sentence though.

courtneyjilll

It should be I because a subject pronoun follows a linking verb. You only use an object pronoun after an action verb, preposition or if it is the direct or indirect object.

sneetches

packfan20 said:

Should it not be "he's a year younger than I" As in "He's a year younger than I am."?  I've seen this a handful of times recently.  Am I wrong or is this becoming acceptable. 

It should be "than I."  "Than I" is an elliptical subordinate clause.  Elliptical clauses are acceptable usage and are missing words - in this case, it should be "than I am."  All clauses have a subject and a verb.  "I" is the subject of the subordinate clause.  "Me" can't be the subject; it is always the object.

Sorry - English teacher here!

PhoenixRising11

sneetches said:

packfan20 said:

Should it not be "he's a year younger than I" As in "He's a year younger than I am."?  I've seen this a handful of times recently.  Am I wrong or is this becoming acceptable. 

It should be "than I."  "Than I" is an elliptical subordinate clause.  Elliptical clauses are acceptable usage and are missing words - in this case, it should be "than I am."  All clauses have a subject and a verb.  "I" is the subject of the subordinate clause.  "Me" can't be the subject; it is always the object.

Sorry - English teacher here!

This warms the heart of this grammarian! Object/subject errors are one of my pet peeves. The other one is split infinitives. 

sweetrhythms

Yeah, @sneetches is right, although i could never explain it like she did! I can't believe I read this book and never caught this! I'm the Grammar Police.