When to use “we” & “us” — specific SAT example
Can you
run faster than _____? (1), (2), he?
I see what some misconceptions were made of the words we and us. I am using a Princeton Review 11 SAT tests 2011 edition, practice test 7, section 6, number 29 (just in case anyone actually had that book).
Do you find an incorrect word in the following section? If I don’t know how to ask a question, this kind of question should give me a sentence. Four different phrases or words are underlined in that sentence and labeled A, B, C, and D respectively. This objective is to find phrases that are incorrectly used. As contenders for the Oscars in Manchester 2007,
Mark and I were all shocked by the decision; it seemed to us that the winner of the contest was far less talented than we.
A: Both shocked
B: it seemed
C: far less
D: far
less E: No
error So of course, everything seemed right till I got to that last word. Why should I use the word “us” and not “we”? What was the answer in the back of a book?
The we in (D) may sound strange, but the subject pronoun is correct for this phrase.
Should I ask someone please? Why did I take the wrong word us?
What is it like to be a college student?
This is one of those messy situations the exam writers should know better than to dump you into.
Very rigorous judges have long held that constructions of the type “X is better than Y” (substitute your own comparative for ‘better’) should be parsed as elliptical reductions of “X is better than Y is”, and therefore require y to be realized in the nominative case, if that’s distinct from the objective (which is only the case with the pronouns “he”, “she”, “we” and “they”). After those rules, one must follow the test. If you don’t follow them, then you must change your name or be admitted.
Unhappily for those rigorous judges, the rule is not, and never has been, followed in the language-as-she-is-actually-spoken. In ordinary speech virtually everybody has virtually always said “She’s better than me “, “He’s better than her”, “I’m better than him”, “We’re better than them” and “They’re better than us “. I am a linguist. The rules of English are recognized by most descriptive linguists and many people support the rule.
So there’s a fundamental disagreement between two schools of prescriptive grammarians: which “rule” should you follow?
What does this sort, sort by the time you retire? What if you were stuck in the middle?
“The rule of I/he/she/we/they” is really a bad one. You’re applying for admission to a discourse community which very largely observes it; so choke down your annoyance and follow their rules until you have enough seniority to follow your own rules.
Just wait for them to die. You’ll be fine.
