She was neither better bred nor wiser than you or
     me.—­THACKERAY.

     No mightier than thyself or me.—­SHAKESPEARE.

     Lin’d with Giants deadlier than ’em all.—­POPE.

     But he must be a stronger than thee.—­SOUTHEY.

     Not to render up my soul to such as thee.—­BYRON.

     I shall not learn my duty from such as thee.—­FIELDING.

[Sidenote:  A safe rule.]

It will be safer for the student to follow the general rule, as illustrated in the following sentences:—­

     If so, they are yet holier than we.—­RUSKIN.

     Who would suppose it is the game of such as he?—­DICKENS.

     Do we see
     The robber and the murd’rer weak as we? 
     —­MILTON.

     I have no other saint than thou to pray to.—­LONGFELLOW.

[Sidenote:  “Than whom.”]

401.  One exception is to be noted.  The expression than whom seems to be used universally instead of “than who.”  There is no special reason for this, but such is the fact; for example,—­

     One I remember especially,—­one than whom I never met a bandit
     more gallant.—­THACKERAY.

     The camp of Richard of England, than whom none knows better how
     to do honor to a noble foe.—­SCOTT.

     She had a companion who had been ever agreeable, and her estate a
     steward than whom no one living was supposed to be more
     competent.—­PARTON.

[Sidenote:  “It was he” or “It was him"?]

402.  And there is one question about which grammarians are not agreed, namely, whether the nominative or the objective form should be used in the predicate after was, is, are, and the other forms of the verb be.

It may be stated with assurance that the literary language prefers the nominative in this instance, as,—­

     For there was little doubt that it was he.—­KINGSLEY.

     But still it is not she.—­MACAULAY.

     And it was he
     That made the ship to go. 
     —­COLERIDGE.

In spoken English, on the other hand, both in England and America, the objective form is regularly found, unless a special, careful effort is made to adopt the standard usage.  The following are examples of spoken English from conversations:—­

     “Rose Satterne, the mayor’s daughter?”—­“That’s
     her.”—­KINGSLEY.

     “Who’s there?”—­“Me, Patrick the Porter.”—­WINTHROP.

     “If there is any one embarrassed, it will not be me.”—­WM.
     BLACK.

The usage is too common to need further examples.

Exercise.

Correct the italicized pronouns in the following sentences, giving reasons from the analysis of the sentence:—­