JS Tip 473: "I" and "Me" 201
From the Writing Workshops: “I” and “Me” 201
Last week, we discussed “I” and “me.”
We asked, “Which is correct, ‘Please call Jennifer or me’ or ‘Please call Jennifer or I’?”
And we answered, “Please call Jennifer or me” because we’d say “Please call me” and not “Please call I.”
Now it gets difficult.
“I” and “Me” 201
Which is correct?
Tough one.
- A. “She is wiser than me.”
B. “She is wiser than I.”
The correct answer is “A,” but with a caution: “B” is missing a word. You can make “B” correct by adding the missing “am.” “She is wiser than I am.” (You wouldn’t say “She is wiser than me am.”)
A source is The Columbia Guide to Standard American English:
Than is both a subordinating conjunction, as in She is wiser than I am, and a preposition, as in She is wiser than me.
Notice how one example uses “am,” and the other doesn’t. That’s the difference.
Now. Will the grammar police break down your door and haul you away if you write, “She is wiser than I”?
No. Probably not. The police will assume the “am” is understood.
If you’d like to know more, let us know.
We love this stuff.