reduced and unreduced phrasal comparatives

degree heads combine with individual (john is taller than [mary]) as well as clausal arguments (john is taller than [mary is]). does the degree head have the same meaning in these two argument structures? two kinds of answers have been proposed in the literature: i. there is a single meaning where the 2-place degree head combines with a degree predicate, with a reduction operation that derives the dp argument from a degree predicate denoting clausal argument, and ii. there are distinct meanings for each argument structure, one combining with an individual denoting dp (3-place degree head) and the other with a degree predicate denoting clause (2-place degree head). we show that languages vary in which of these answers they choose: english goes for option i and hindi-urdu and japanese for versions of option ii.