A multiple choice question:
He works harder than ____ in his class.
Why would filling “anyone” there be wrong? And why would using "any other student" be right? I think it should be "any other students."
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Sign up to join this communityA multiple choice question:
He works harder than ____ in his class.
Why would filling “anyone” there be wrong? And why would using "any other student" be right? I think it should be "any other students."
Using "he works harder than any other student" is saying that if another student is chosen, no matter who, 'he' works harder than that student. The singular "student" is correct, but the sentence is still OK if the plural "students" is used.
If he works harder than anyone, then he would be working harder than himself, which is not possible. As such, it must be "anyone else" or "any other student".
While this is the grammatically correct way to say it, there are plenty of native speakers who would say "He works harder than anyone in his class," so I wouldn't worry too much about it.