It Sounds Wrong, but it’s Right
rogersgeorge on March 30th, 2023
Last panel. Shouldn’t it be “wiser than me”?
Having the pronoun all by itself gives a strong direct object signal, “me.” But we have an ellipsis here. The last word is left off. The ‘correct’ sentence ends with “wiser than I am.” Now the “I” sounds right!
I should add a bit more information. That sentence has another ellipsis. Put “who is” after “someone.” Now, perhaps, you can see that “I” is a predicate nominative, not a direct object.
Okay, class, lesson’s over. Don’t feel bad; no one will notice if you get this kind of sentence wrong.
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