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Here is my example (from an SAT question):

No one is sorrier than I that you missed the awards ceremony

I don't know understand why it is "I". Shouldn't it be "me" since "I" is the subject here? Thanks

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  • It's due to inadequate analysis on the part of whoever came up with the question. – snailplane Dec 1 '15 at 2:06
  • @sumelic They appear to be saying that me is an incorrect choice, but of course it's fine. Maybe I read too much into the question . . . ? – snailplane Dec 1 '15 at 2:28
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    @snailboat: from the answers below, it looks like this question only requires you to recognize that "I" is valid here; you don't have to say that "me" is incorrect, because it is not given as an option. – herisson Dec 1 '15 at 2:31
  • @dngr193 What are the choices the question gives? – snailplane Dec 1 '15 at 2:32
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If "I" is the subject, then you should be using "I." If "I" were the object, you should use "me."

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/english-mistakes/i-vs-me/

In this case it's weird, because of the sentence structure. I get my head around it by filling in the implied "No one is sorrier than I Am that..."

That implied "am" makes all the difference. It's clearly wrong to say "No one is sorrier than me am."

Also, if you're taking it from a practice test...

practice test #6 section 6 of the blue book. It's #4: No one is [more sorrier than me] that you missed the awards ceremony. (A) more sorrier than me (B) sorrier than I (C) more sorry like myself (D) as sorry like I am (E) sorrier but me

It looks like the "me" option (E) is incorrect because of "but." (http://qa.pwnthesat.com/post/57707656637/i-need-help-with-a-writing-question-improving)

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  • I see, that post was very useful – dngr193 Dec 1 '15 at 2:10
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The given sentence suggests that "than" is a conjunction, linking the two sentences "I am sorry" with "no one is sorrier".

In full, the sentence would be "no one is sorrier than I am that you missed the awards ceremony". The "am" is implied and understood; it's left out through ellipsis.

However, there is an argument for using "me" instead of "I". Such a construction would would suggest that "than" is a preposition.

You can read about the controversy here.

If you want a rule of thumb without any real explanation, go here.

If you want a historical take on the grammar controversy, you can start here.

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