English syntax

klaus

klaus

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Hi all,

I have a question about English syntax.
Which one of the following two sentences is correct ?
- You were faster than me
- You were faster than I

I tried to get the answer with the Google translator but no success, or are both correct !?

If I translate, in Google, from French to English
"Tu étais plus rapide que moi" I get "You were faster than me"

If I translate, in Google, from German to English
"Du warst schneller als Ich" I get "You were faster than I"

Same translations with Babel Fish.

Thank's in advance.
 
D

Deleted member 103

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Hallo Klaus,

If I translate, in Google, from French to English
"Tu étais plus rapide que moi" I get "You were faster than me"
Click to expand...
If I translate, in Google, from Italian to English
"Sei stato più veloce di me" I get "You've been faster than me"


Ciao,
Filippo
 
klaus

klaus

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Hi Filippo,

Thank's for your reply, I got my answer now in trying some more with Google.

The correct syntax is "You were faster than me" !

If I translate in Google from German to English:
"Du warst schneller als Ich" I get "You were faster than I"
and with
"Du warst schneller als ich" I get "You were faster than me"

​
Best regards.
 
Cableguy

Cableguy

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I think that both are correct, each one in its time in history...

"thou are my sun" is the same as "You are my son"....

In portuguese we have a similar issue....with the "Gram" word gender...
In englis this never aplies as a gram is always a gram, but in portuguese we can say
"uma grama" wich would then be female or
"um grama" wich is male... both are considered correct...
 
klaus

klaus

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Thank's folks.

That means that the English syntax is similar to the German one.
This also means that the automatic translators are not that strict.

But in French saying "Tu étais plus rapide que je" is definitely wrong
as in German saying "Du warst schneller als mich" is wrong too.

@ceasar, I didn't look for a workaround :).

Thank's again and best regards.
 
agraham

agraham

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klaus said:
That means that the English syntax is similar to the German one.
Click to expand...
My other half tells me that most European languages are similar in their use of "to be" and "to have". I bow to her superior knowledge on language and grammar (but not on much else :) - though her nuclear physics is not bad but on sub-atomic stuff she is somewhat lacking :( )
 
C

ceaser

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How about "Du warst schneller als mir"?................ "You were faster than me"

Klaus....."Workarounds" do sometimes solve the problem:)

Anyway, this is just a thought. Still trying to finish my Surveying program in time!!!!!

Regards
Michael( alias CEASER)
 
Cableguy

Cableguy

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yeh, waht he said....I think.....

"slang is a very curious thing....what we say may not ne waht we mean...."
 
J

JJM

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Réponse à la question - Klaus question

Hello Klaus

La bonne syntaxe est You were faster than me.
The good syntax is You were faster than me.

Bonne soirée
Best regards

JJ M
 
M

Mr_Gee

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"Jij was sneller dan ik" would be the dutch equivalent,
just to cover most european languages ;-)

too bad that grammar isn't logic, atleast in dutch it isn't
:(
 
C

ceaser

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What about: "Jy was vinniger as ek". This at least covers an African language as well!:cool:
 
S

stevefan

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Joke

Teacher to pupil: Give me a sentance starting with the letter "I".

Pupil: I is...

Teacher: No, you should say "I am"

Pupil: Ok... I am the 9th letter of the alphabet.
 
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