To be more focused on
“The president appears to be more focused on procuring his xenophobic symbol than running the government and upholding democratic norms.”
(The Guardian.)
Is "than" a conjunction or a preposition in the comparative clause above?
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I think that "than" is a preposition in that clause.
I see "than" as the head of the prepositional phrase in which the preposition "on" is omitted in its complement in the comparative clause.
I understand it like this:
The president appears to be more focused on procuring his xenophobic symbol than [on] running the government and [on] upholding democratic norms.
Top answer
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"Than" is a conjunction joining the two contrasting halves of the sentence: "The president...xenophobic symbol" and "running the...democratic norms."
0tkacka15Is "than" a conjunction or a preposition in the comparative clause above?
I think you'll find that different writers on grammar classify 'than' differently. I don't think there is a definitive answer.
tkacka15I understand it like this:
The president appears to be more focused on procuring his xenophobic symbo
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