Grammar Mishaps: Then vs. Than
74The Lakers have always been better than most teams in the league, but then, I'm a bit biased.
A common mistake
The Most Common Usages
Than: a comparison
Then: a description of time
For a more detailed explanation, see the definitions below.
Examples of Than: A comparison
- Even at the age of twelve she was taller than I.
- She is a better singer than he.
- Tillamook cheese is much better than Kraft.
Definition: Than
- Used after a comparative adjective or adverb to introduce the second element or clause of an unequal comparison: She had better grammar than I.
- Used to introduce the second element after certain words indicating difference: He sang at a lower octave than she.
- When. Used especially after hardly and scarcely: I had hardly the energy to smile than I saw your face.
Examples of Then: A description of time
- I want to go to a restaurant then to the party.
- I loved the movie French Kiss, but then, I love sappy movies.
- Then, out of nowhere, she started to dance.
Definition: Then
- At that time: Come over to my house, I'll show you then.
- Immediately following: First I will get a haircut, then I will get a manicure.
- In addition: She wanted $100 and then interest too.
- As a consequence; therefore: She wants to be a star, then, she does the work.
- In that case: If you want my money, take it then.
- Used after but to qualify or balance a preceding statement: He was a star, but then he always worked so hard.
- Used in "if...then" statements: If you study hard in high school, then you can get into a good college.
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Thoughts, Comments, Questions
Thanks and great topic idea, George. I agree on #3, I almost didn't add it; but I thought I'd be as thorough as possible. I'll work on the degrees of adjectives! ;)
Your grammar is better than mine, but then whose isn’t? Your rules are way better than my rememberer!
Ha! To quote Jimmy, "lol". Thanks, Jack!
very useful
at last, a very simple explaination. I guess we aren't smarter THAN a 5th grader!
Thanks, Rose. Cheers!
Under "then" - Sentences #1 and #2 have comma splices; sentence #4 is as well, and doesn't make sense in its current form. Sentence #5 is awkward, as "then" should be moved to the beginning of the second clause.
Under "than" - Sentence #3 makes no sense at all.
I see the misuse of then and than in soooo many places, and the usage is really, quite simple. Like on one movie site - they say "Better then being there." How simple is that sentence to actually get correctly - and so many people get it wrong. It seems to happen more and more often. Alot of people say well, the spell check didn't pick up on it; well, take a moment to think, folks. This is basic grammar.
Yeah, you would think that having spent years in elementary school and being an honors/advanced placement student that I would know this kind of stuff but I just wrote my final draft of my college essay and was falling back on old tricks at remembering grammer to be sure that the essay was grammatically correct. Well, I did a google search and found this page and realized that "I do basic grammer not good" :)Thanks for this. I hate textbook explanations.
Are there any exceptions to the rule? Such as when two times(then) are being compared(than): "better now then ever", or "better now than ever"?
number five on the definitions for 'then' - 'then' would come before 'take it,' just as a clarity issue...sorry, im a bit picky on all aspects of people's grammar.
Hey, Thanks for this very simple but very helpful explanation of the difference between Then and Than. I am a dutch university study and I just started my masters. They desided here that because English is the language of Science, we should write all our reports and exams in English. However, this is easier said THAN done. And in Dutch, we only have the word "dan", which is correct for both THEN and THAN. Thus, to me this is very confusing. Many Many thanx for helping me handing in my thesis with correct grammer !!! ;)
Warning to all!!
Example #3 for THAN is incorrect. THEN is the proper use in the example "I had hardly the energy to smile than I saw your face." Or, the entire example is just grammatically BAD! How about: "I had hardly the energy to smile, then I saw your face." The sentence needs to be completely restructured to make proper use of than.
example 3 sounds like a quote from a sonnet or a play. so, if you go back to a time where the english language was still beautiful, then it could be correct.
The comment above from bettergrammar is not correct. As the first comment at the beginning of this string of postings points out, it is archaic and therefore probably unrecognizable in its exact meaning to those of us who have simply never heard it used in this way. Consequently, we are naturally inclined to want to have it make sense using some form or structure that we ARE familiar with. Yes, changing it to "..., then I saw your face." makes sense to us, but it also changes the exact meaning that was once conveyed by the now archaic use of 'than'.
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gredmondson says:
3 years ago
The example #3 for than seems archaic (or awkward) to me. I know the difference between then and than, but I never knew the rule about being after a comparative adjective. Adn, sure enough, your examples (excepting #3) all have comparative adjectives. Could you do a hub on the three degrees of adjectives (positive, comparative, superlative) -- for example tall, taller, tallest; good, better, best; low, lower, lowest.
Keep it up, Robin!