← Grammar Hub

C2On my own or with a tutor

I Trust Anna More Than Beth: Complete the Missing Comparison

By the end: I can expand a shortened comparison to show exactly which people and relationships are compared.

Created by Denis M., British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Playback speed

Choose a short recording.

Two possible relationships

A shortened comparison can leave its missing clause unclear. The title might compare the speaker’s trust in two people, or two people’s trust in Anna.

I trust Anna more than I trust Beth.

I trust Anna more than Beth trusts Anna.

Denis turns confidently toward Anna to entrust her with a small camera case, while Beth stands beside them listening. Denis is comparing his own trust in two people. Show an ordinary preference with calm expressions, without casting Beth as dishonest or bad. — I trust Anna more than I trust Beth.The subject I is shared; the trusted person changes.

Make both sides explicit

Restore a subject and verb in the comparison when the roles matter. Use names where a pronoun would introduce another uncertainty.

Leo helps Maya more than he helps Noor.

Leo helps Maya more than Noor helps Maya.

Shorten only when safe

Ellipsis is useful when the intended relationship is recoverable. A full clause can be clearer than a debate about pronoun case, especially when more than one reading fits.

She trusts him more than I do.

She trusts him more than she trusts me.

Anna stands centrally holding the same camera case. Denis and Beth both direct their attention toward Anna, Denis more assured and Beth more cautious. The trusted person is the same Anna while the two people doing the trusting differ. No accusation or moral judgement. — I trust Anna more than Beth trusts Anna.Anna is shared; the person doing the trusting changes.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.

1. Expand for the two-object reading: I trust Anna more than Beth.

Compare a model and explanation

I trust Anna more than I trust Beth.

The same person trusts two different people.

2. Expand for the two-truster reading: I trust Anna more than Beth.

Compare a model and explanation

I trust Anna more than Beth trusts Anna.

Two people trust the same person.

3. Does the short title sentence alone force one of those readings?

Compare a model and explanation

No.

Context is needed to settle the intended relation.

4. Source: Leo helps Maya ten hours; Leo helps Noor two hours. Compare recipients.

Compare a model and explanation

Leo helps Maya more than he helps Noor.

The same helper appears on both sides.

5. Source: Leo helps Maya ten hours; Noor helps Maya two hours. Compare helpers.

Compare a model and explanation

Leo helps Maya more than Noor helps Maya.

The recipient remains Maya.

6. Make the target of trust explicit: She trusts him more than she trusts me.

Compare a model and explanation

Her trust in him is greater than her trust in me.

A noun-phrase paraphrase can also clarify roles.

7. Is informal than me automatically an error in every construction?

Compare a model and explanation

No.

A fuller clause is useful for clarity without inventing a universal ban.

8. Repair an unsupported interpretation: The source only says Jo admires Ana more than Lee. Summary: Lee admires Ana less than Jo does.

Compare a model and explanation

The shortened comparison leaves the intended relationship unclear.

The summary selects a reading without supporting context.

A short conversation

Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.

Open the conversation transcript

A: Your sentence says I trust Anna more than Beth.

B: I mean I trust Anna more than I trust Beth.

A: So you are comparing two people you trust, not Beth’s trust in Anna?

B: Exactly. I’ll keep the full clause so the comparison is clear.

Listening checks

Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.

Use it in your own words

Speaking 1

Give two full versions of the title sentence and explain the changed relationship.

Reveal a possible response

I trust Anna more than I trust Beth compares my trust in two people. I trust Anna more than Beth trusts Anna compares two people’s trust in Anna.

Success check: Keep the direction of greater trust stable.

Speaking 2

Write a shortened comparison, supply its intended reading, and expand it.

Reveal a possible response

Leo helps Maya more than Noor. I mean Leo helps Maya more than he helps Noor.

Success check: Do not claim the short form alone forces your intention.

Put it all together

A fictional record gives Leo ten hours helping Maya and Noor two hours helping Maya. Write a clear comparison, an ambiguous shortened version and a final edit suitable for a report.

Reveal a possible response

Leo helps Maya more than Noor helps Maya. The shortened version Leo helps Maya more than Noor could be misread as comparing recipients. For the report, I would keep the full comparison.

Success check: Preserve helper, recipient, measure and evidential limits.

Take it with you

I can expand a shortened comparison to show exactly which people and relationships are compared.