And we have a good example of why there is this tendency.  For a lot of
grammar teaching purposes I would treat the sentence as Phil has, but
for some purposes, including some pedagogical, I also want to be able to
explain that the "more ... than" dependency isn't just a fact about
particular words but follows from deeper syntactic and semantic
principles.

I think this speaks to part of what we as a group are trying to provide:
a view of language that allows us to provide explanations that are
appropriate to need and to audience.

Herb

Subject: Re: conjunction or preposition

I think there is a tendency to overthink these things in this group.  

You can say

  More pickup trucks are sold

and you see that "more" is an adjective

The addition is of "than sedan" is a very ordinary addition of a
prepositional phrase.  

you cannot say

  Pickup trucks than sedands are sold

which tells you that there is a dependent relation between "than" and
either "-er" and "more" or "less".  This dependency is what strikes
people as strange and is the only thing that is abberrant in the
sentence.  

Phil Bralich


-----Original Message-----
>From: "Paul T. Wilson" <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Apr 25, 2006 8:43 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: conjunction or preposition
>
>Though it's idiosyncratic, it seems to me that the concept of 
>coordinating conjunctions might explain this more elegantly.
>
>Both pickup trucks and sedans are sold in some areas of California.
>
>Either pickup trucks or sedans are sold in some areas of California.
>
>I understand that
>
>(a) *more* can be adj., adv., or noun and *than* is typically a 
>conjunction or preposition,  and
>
>(b)  "more . . . than" specifies a difference in quantity that "both .
. 
>. and" and "either . . . or" do not.
>
>However, together, "more . . . than" seems to function the same way as 
>the coordinating conjunctions.
>
>So I posit that *than* promotes *more* - functionally - to the status
of 
>a conjunction.
>
>
>Jeanne Rodgers wrote:
>> How is "than" functioning in the following sentence, as a
subordinating conjunction introducing an unconventionally placed
ellipitical clause or as a preposition?
>>
>> More pickup trucks than sedans are sold in some areas of California.
>>
>> Jeanne Rodgers
>> CSU, Sacramento
>>   
>
>To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
interface at:
>     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
>and select "Join or leave the list"
>
>Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/