Lately I've been hoping to learn formal English grammar to help me in my more formal writing. Now I've strayed upon this piece of information, which I'm liable to forget if it isn't written somewhere where I will see it. (I apologize if it's tedious.)
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Explanation: "Than" isn't only a preposition. It is also a conjunction. If there are two pairs of subject and verb in a sentence, then clearly it must be separated by one, if not by punctuation. For example (as is written in Wiktionary): 'she is taller than I am.'
It is clear that it is treated differently in that function.
As a conjunction, it takes the nominative case. Again, quoting Wiktionary:
"You are a better swimmer than she."
is right because it is an abbreviation of the phrase,
"You are a better swimmer than she is."
As a preposition, it takes the oblique case. Therefore,
"They like you more than her."
is right because it abbreviates
"They like you more than they like her."
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(Thank you for your indulgence!)
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