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Which one of these two is correct? Is it necessary to write 'you are' instead of only 'you'?

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  • It's just an unwanted distraction that you happen to have chosen a pronoun where the nominative and accusative forms are the same. It would probably be more useful to consider "I am better than him" vs "I am better than he [is]". Oct 23, 2014 at 14:21

3 Answers 3

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Both are correct, replace the verb 'am' (which is current tense version of the verb 'be' as in 'to be') and you can see the structure better.

  • I am better than you.

  • I dance better than you.

  • I am better than you are.

  • I dance better than you dance.

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  • I dance better than you do. - This should be the correct expression, i should think.
    – Leo
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:49
  • Indeed, although my point was to substitute the verb to demonstrate how it occurs twice in a sentence. I dance better than you do, or I dance better than you dance, would both be correct and perfectly acceptable: they still add a similar amount of emphasis
    – Jon Story
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:50
  • well in that case - i take it back
    – Leo
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:51
  • @Leo I dance better than you is perfect, idiomatic, everyday English. I cook better than you, My wife speaks French better than me (or I). The dogs guard the house better than the cats.
    – user6951
    Oct 23, 2014 at 18:27
  • @Leo Than can be a preposition "You dance better than me" or a conjunction "You dance better than I do". (We need to replace you, as FumbleFingers points out, with a word with separate nominative and accusative forms for this question to be useful. I chose I/me.)
    – user230
    Oct 24, 2014 at 11:56
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If you write 'you are' then you are emphasizing it and nothing else.

So grammatically both are correct.

More examples

  1. Virat is a better batsman than Suresh.
  2. Virat is a way better batsman than Suresh is.
  3. I got more brains than you.
  4. I got more brains than you do.
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  • 1
    I would say that 'I got' for 'I have', I have got' or 'I've got' is still generally regarded as non-standard, particularly in writing.
    – tunny
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:22
  • I'd agree with tunny, 'got' is not a verb in this context, you did not 'get' more brains (as in to retrieve), you 'have' or 'have got' more brains
    – Jon Story
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:45
  • well it was more hollywoodish style english (If you watch English movies regularyly, that's the English sentence style that comes to mind) As Americans they are allowed to speak a bit ungrammatical English, right ?
    – Leo
    Oct 23, 2014 at 14:56
  • @Leo there is no such thing as "hoolywood style English." Movies reflect a wide variety of English usage. What is important is that got as a synonym for have* (as in possess) is not ungrammatical in everyday speech.
    – user6951
    Oct 23, 2014 at 18:25
  • well - i can only agree with you (on the point where you say - there is no such thing as "hoolywood style English) if you are an American otherwise i tend to disagree. And by hollywoodish English i mean you find many sentences there which are ungrammatical from the British English perspective. That's it.
    – Leo
    Oct 23, 2014 at 18:49
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In a sentence with "I" vs. "you," I can see where adding or subtracting the "do" is a matter of style choice.

But in the sentence "Nobody knows your life better than you" there is room for ambiguity.

Without adding the "do," the meaning might also become "Nobody knows your life better than (they know) you."

Adding the "do," it becomes clearer that the meaning is "Nobody knows your life better than you (know your life) do."

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