OWIES

[highlyeccentric]

Still hurts to breathe. Ribs and back feel bruised. Period-pain drugs seem to help. Am thinking I might have mild pluerisy.

Seeing a doctor tomorrow, after I go out to the bus depot to pick up my errant phone. In the six months I've been here I've broken two phones, lost the third twice, had a motherboard and graphics card die on me, lost my keys once and and lost, never to be returned, a nice purple cardigan. I've also got sick in new and interesting ways unlike ways I have ever been sick before.

If you're trying to contact me, phone is out of business until tomorrow morning.

In other news, when I walked past this morning, the coffee shop staff gathered together to point and whisper. This afternoon, Boy Who Is Not Cute helpfully decided to start up a conversation between himself, myself, and Boy Who Is Cute. I think the staff have taken pity on either Boy Who Is Cute or I?

Comments

[xxlucyferxx.livejournal.com]

Least it's just at the bus depot instead of actually LOST. Saves you buying a new one.

Clearly, Canberra is cursed for you.

*I think the staff have taken pity on either Boy Who Is Cute or ME!!!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I think the staff have taken pity on either Boy Who Is Cute or ME!!!

GODDAMNIT. I have found someone more adept at declining pronouns than I! Clearly I must either kill you or marry you!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

THAN ME THAN ME THAN ME.

Only I swear sometimes I've read "more xxx than he". Like, in fusty old books. *frowns* WHICH IS CORRECT? If third person pronouns can't help WHAT AM I TO DO?

[niamh-sage.livejournal.com]

Take out the other person and see what the sentence sounds like. That is:

I think the staff have taken pity on either Boy Who Is Cute or I?

becomes

I think the staff have taken pity on I, which sounds wrong/weird, so 'I' must be replaced by 'me'.

I hope you feel better soon! *hugs*

(And I, too, find it strange that you seem to have entered some kind of Bermuda Triangle wrt communications devices. Except for the cardigan, obviously.)

(And ... SQUEEE! Obviously a conspiracy is afoot...)

ETA: By 'take out the other person' I mean 'remove them from the sentence', not 'take them out for a drink' although that might apply too in this instance. >;)

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know that one. But "more silly than I" or "more silly than me"? I usually figure it out by going "more silly than he/him" but I can't decide btween those either.

[ahsavka.livejournal.com]

In that instance, think of it like:

She is more silly than he (is silly). Still the subject! We just drop off the redundant part.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yes. Of course. Elided verbs!

[tea-fiend.livejournal.com]

Just remember your subject and object, dear. niamh_sage says to go with what sounds better; me rather than I sounds better because it's the object, and the object form of the first person singular pronoun is me, not I.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

YES I KNOW THAT WORKS WITH THE EXAMPLE IN THE POST. I'm not *silly*.

What I can't figure out is whether, in a comparative construction, such as 'more silly than he/him', he/him ought to be the subject or the object. Someone further down made a good argument for 'he' being the subject of an elided verb (is), so I will use that henceforth.

[tea-fiend.livejournal.com]

According to Crystal and wiki, we're talking about the oblique case, so it'd be he rather than him. That better?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Oh. Right. I don't understand obliques because they aren't in Old English. :P Mind you, if they're not in OE, then there is probably a perfectly sensible OE-based explanation.

[tea-fiend.livejournal.com]

Well until you find an OE-compliant explanation, there's always wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Than

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Yet prior to Lowth's asserion, than was far more commonly taken to govern the oblique case, more commonly referred to today as the "objective case" [1]. The usage of many notable English writers is consistent with this view, e.g. William Shakespeare, whose 1600 play Julius Caesar contains the line:

A man no mightier than thyself or me. . .

According to wikipedia, the use of the oblique case (ACCUSATIVE OR DATIVE????) means the use of *him* rather than *he*. You or crystal need to work out your examples here...

[tea-fiend.livejournal.com]

Scroll down further to the other examples. They make sense. And if there was a typo it was probably me; my brain's not working at the moment.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

But I like the examples further down, in which either the nominative or the oblique is valid depending on the construction.

[sommeille.livejournal.com]

Eep. The pleurisy thing doesn't sound too fun. *hugs* I offer, nevertheless, equal wishes of good luck in matters of both the heart and lungs.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

YOU SHOULD COME TO CANBERRA. IN EARLY TO MID AUGUST. I have someone I want you to meet, and also Lucy wants to see you again!

[phrasemuffin.livejournal.com]

Methinks pity is either on Boy Who Is Cute or the pair of you, but not on you alone. They can't pity you alone, because they can't know for certain whether you are interested or not. With BWIC, however, they have clearly been having discussions out the back on their non-coffee breaks about how he can't summon the courage to talk to you, and how you're clearly too much of a Lady to strike up a conversation (because we all know that coffee people are Old Fashioned about things like courting and the price of eggs), so he just has to grow a pair and be a man and talk.

The pluerisy thing sounds bad (I don't know what that is). I'm glad you're seeing a doctor about it. If you aren't well soon, I think I shall cry. And then concoct a tea from my tears which will cleanse you of all that ails you.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I would not drink tea made from your tears! That would be cruel!

[kitsunejin.livejournal.com]

Ack, that sounds awful! Breathing is important!

Um, yay for Cute Coffee Guy?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

CAN STILL BREATHE. It just sort of hurts. Therefore, I am FEEDING YOU. Pls to be sending instructions concerning this.