Grammar Question

packfan20 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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

Menrandes · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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 · August 2013

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.

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