than (1).
Today: Verb Not Repeated After (“than is,” “than has”).
Often it’s unnecessary (though not ungrammatical) to repeat “be”-verbs and “have”-verbs after “than,” especially when a noun follows — e.g.:
o “Jonathan Lipnicki . . . became a national favorite as the too-cute son in ‘Jerry Maguire.’ He’s still cute, probably more so than is [read ‘than’] the series [‘in which he now stars’].” Pete Schulberg, “Big Names Give Reason to Hope for Good Shows,” Oregonian (Portland), 7 Sept. 1997, at 5.
o “Derby (pronounced Darby) is far more typical of English life than is [read ‘than’] London — in the same way that Dubuque is more typical of American life than New York City.” Ann Miller Jordan, “Derby Filled with History, Charm — and Ghosts,” Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 1997, at 1.
o “Both major female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, can be given at any age to strengthen bones, and the combination can be far more effective than is [read ‘than’] estrogen alone.” Gabe Mirkin, “Looking to Control Body Fat?” Wash. Times, 27 Oct. 1997, at B12.
Next: For “then.”
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
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Quotation of the Day: “In general, the Romance element of our language lends itself to special subjects of which the nomenclature is Romance, and to all abstract as opposed to concrete treatments of a subject. Its literary value is quite equal to that of the Saxon element, but if wrongly used it can harm literary expression, whereas Saxon can never work harm even if used to excess.” Charles F. Johnson, English Words 87 (1892).
