So I have been grading papers, and I just want to make anyone who cares aware that there is a difference between 'than' and 'then'. If you say 'if' before it, then you need to use 'then'. If it is a sequence of events, such as, "First we, then we," then you use 'then.' If, however, you are talking about an amount, then you use 'than'. For instance, "I want more soup than that." "I was hoping for a higher score than this." "You did better in that contest than he did." All examples of when to use 'than' instead of 'then'.
Sorry I'll dismount from this soapbox. Tomorrow I'll talk about nouns of direct address and threw vs. through. That's a tricky one ;) Gotta luv hi scool!
2 comments:
You've hit on one of my pet peeves. It kind of drives me nuts when those two get mixed up. I think the issue has more to do with pronunciation than grammar. "Than" is actually turning into "then" in the pronunciation-of-the-English-language-according-to-Utah. It's like when people "fill" the Spirit in church, or have a yard "sell". The end.
i totally agree with you there, most of my friends totally mix those up, and i always correct them. they freak out at me, obviously, because I'm not an English major yet. but i totally hate that, "then" and "than" are totally different, it's like "there" and "their" it's insane that kids my age don't know where to use those! It's pathetic.
Post a Comment