Another pair of words that I see misused far more often than not is than and then.. As with affect and effect, than and then are so commonly misused that I suspect that more than mere carelessness is involved. Than is used to form comparisons between two things. One of the simplest ways to explore two things side-by-side in a sentence is to employ a phrase like different from or different than.. Each of these phrases is acceptable, but in some cases one or the other is a better choice.
(For example: Julie had been taller than her little brother at the start of the year, but then Corey grew over the summer until he stood half an inch taller than his sister.) Edwin told me, “If we are having fun together, then you should take lots of photographs.” There were no digital cameras then! Than is used in comparisons as a conjunction, as in "she is younger than I am," and as a preposition, "he is taller than me." These two words are very close in their appearance, but than vs. then have very different uses. Then vs. Than The words Then and Than might sound the same, but have different meanings and different spellings. I shudder, too, when reading “different than”. For some, this ubiquity translates into greater opportunity for committing grammatical blunders. The function word "than" is used to indicate a point of difference or comparison, as in: She's taller "than" you are. Then vs Than. In this Grammar.com article, you will learn the differences between these two confusing words. 15,779 Views Angbeen Chaudhary — Grammar Tips. This is especially apparent in written English. "Then" and "than" are often confused in the English language. There are many ways to discuss the similarities and differences between ideas.
Learn more! How to Use Than vs. then Correctly – Grammarist Grammarist is a professional online English grammar dictionary, that provides a variety of grammatical tools, rules and tips in order to improve your grammar and to help you distinguish between commonly misspelled words. It went dark, then there was a scream. The two words then and than have a clear difference in their grammatical category and their usage. - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary On the opposite hand, the word ‘then’ is employed either to indicate a sequence of events or a way of your time. New Fowler says that both different from and different than have flourished in America. Some careful English speakers consider different to and different than problematic.The argument is that things differ from each other, and they don’t differ to or differ than each other, so different from is the only logical construction.But there are problems with the arguments against different to and different than, and the old prejudice against these phrases should be laid to rest. Here’s the difference between the two, and how they should be used. Use "than" to make a comparison; use "then" to place events in time or things in order. "Than" usually follows a comparative form, but it … Summary: Difference Between Then and Than is that The word ‘than’ is employed to indicate comparison and could be a conjunction(A conjunction could be a word that joins 2 sentences). ” or is it: “I went out and than I realised it was later then I thought.” If you chose the first one then you are correct. Than developed from the word then and did not exist until the 1700s. Than is used to draw a comparison between two or more items, while then is used in relation to time and the order in which events occur. The two words then and than have a clear difference in their grammatical category and their usage. It reminds me of my uncertainty about another expression that bugs me: when people say “waiting ON” someone rather than “waiting FOR” someone. Dictionaries define then lots of different ways: in that case, at that time, next in order of place or time, at the same time, soon afterward, in addition, or as a consequence. The correct usage of these two words is an essential fact in English grammar practice. Most scholars obstinately avoid different than, especially in simple comparisons, such as You are different from me.. Then The word then usually relates to time. Aurally, I might not notice it so much. Than and then are different words. 65 Responses to “Different from, Different to, Different than” Gwen on October 30, 2007 7:05 pm.

March 10, 2018 No Comments. Then and than are among the 100 most frequently used words in the English language. Then Vs. Than – Grammar Rule. ‘Then’ and ‘Than’ are two such words.