If I wrote:
*He likes candy more than I.
*He likes candy more than me.
Both of the two sentences would be correct, right?. It would depend on the context I want to give it.
I didn’t know that until my teacher showed us.
1 Like
Good question. I’d say that you’d here people in America using ‘I’ more likely in this context, whereas speakers of British English would more likely tend to say ‘me’ here.
1 Like
.
I guess Ralf is pulling your leg about AmE. 
.
1 Like
Actually I wasn’t! There’s this North American (Canadian) friend of mine who keeps correcting me whenever I say something like ‘you and me should go for a drink’!
1 Like
According to my teacher, they have different meaning:
*He likes candies more than I ( I like candies).
*He likes candies more than me ( he prefers candies over me).
1 Like
Hmmm… That’s not quite the same sort of thing as Ralahpik’s example, Ralf. :lol:
.
1 Like
I think the two most natural forms are:
- He likes X more than me.
- He likes X more than I do.
If the sentence were:
- He likes Candy more than me.
the teacher might have a point about the possible ambiguity.
MrP
1 Like
Yes, but I’ve heard northern Americans say ‘he likes whiskey more than I’.
Something in the back of my head rings some bells chiming ‘the influence of 19th century descriptive grammar’, but…who knows.
1 Like
.
How many North Americans do you actually know, Ralf?
Are they all prescriptive English teachers and/or do they say such things mainly only after knocking a couple down? :lol:
Ending that sentence with ‘I’ would sound stilted and overly formal. Perhaps your North American friend was using it jokingly – possibly because he/she knows you teach English (?).
At any rate, in AmE, a more natural version of your sentence would generally be pretty much the same as what MrP described:
“He likes whiskey more than I do.”
“He likes whiskey more than me” would also be commonly used to mean the same thing – even though it technically would not be grammatically correct when used that way.
.
1 Like
Yes, Ralahpik, your teacher is right. That is technically correct. However, I would advise against using the sentence “He likes candy more than I”. It would usually sound much too formal in most situations.
If you want to be 100% grammatically correct AND sound natural, then I would recommend that you say your first sentence this way:
“He likes candy more than I do.”
.
1 Like
There are 3 I’d consider my friends. But I feel I have a (probably distorted) vision of American English due to lifelong exposure on TV.
Well, I should have used a more neutral example like ‘He likes Jesus more than I’. 
But yes, they’re all English teachers (from Toronto, Boston, Detroit), and I remember a conservation when I felt driven into a ‘you use wrong grammar’ corner.
.
Yes, that as well. But it sounded more like “You can’t say you like Jesus more than me”
.
Yes, I’d prefer this version over the other alternatives, too.
.
Really? I’m confused.
.
Could X be Jesus/whiskey/New York/my neighbour’s dog Jed?
1 Like
.
Sorry, Ralf, but at this point I’m totally confused about what you’re trying to say, and what advice you want to give Ralahpik. 
.
1 Like
I imagine this being said by a wife complaining about the habits of her husband :lol:
1 Like
I imagine this being said by a wife complaining about the habits of her husband :lol:
:lol: :lol:
Okay, Ralahpik - here’s what feels like the best option
“He likes candy more than I do.”
1 Like
.
Yes, Alex, that may well be the case, and that is ultimately the point that Ralahpik’s teacher was trying to make. :lol:
However, Ralf’s example was “He likes (noun) more than I”, and I just don’t know anyone who would consider that to be a natural-sounding wording. It sounds stilted and contrived.
That’s why I originally thought Ralf was just joking around.
.
1 Like
It’s good to see this issue resolved. I’ll use the stilted weapon next time I find myself in the grammar corner :D.
1 Like
.
Maybe you can establish a “usage corner” for those friends of yours.
.
1 Like
I’d be interested to know what the 3 friends would say here:
- “They should be here any minute. Ah! That’ll be they!”
or
- “They should be here any minute. Ah! That’ll be them!”
MrP
1 Like
They sure wouldn’t be faster than me (at the door)
1 Like
There’s a difference.
He likes candy more than I (like candy).
He likes candy more than (he likes) me.
1 Like