About Comparative

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

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kyoko
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About Comparative

Post by kyoko »

Hello, I'm studying English with my senior.
I'm so confused about " shorthand of Comparative " I wonder this explanation suits or not.

I can walk faster than he (him)
I usually say like this but my coworker says that we need to have a complete sentence like " I run faster than he runs.

I've never said like above when I studied abroad.
I've checked my English book in Japanese, looked into web but it is not clear .

I've been abroad to Study English focused on talking , so I may be in oral situation.
Would you tell me if there are some definition about shorthand of Comparative .

Regards,

Kyoko
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Alan
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Re: About Comparative

Post by Alan »

Informally/conversationally: I run faster than him would be the most widely used form.

However, I run faster than he does would be both 'safer' in terms of acceptability for more formal purposes while also not out of place in conversation.

I run faster than he, on the other hand (with ellipsis of the verb as opposed to its replacement by a pro-form) is considered by many to be hyperformal and old-fashioned, although one occasionally comes across it in the speech and writing of older people.
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