15Seconds WebLog

Then Does Not Equal Than!

One of the most common mistakes I find in articles is the consistent misuse of the word “then”. Many times I see it used instead of  “than”.

1To be clear, “than” is used in a comparative expression to indicate inequality, such as “Some say VB .NET is easier to learn than C#”. It is also used  to express difference in kind, manner, or identity, such as “I'd rather be home than at work.”

1M-w.com

For all the uses of  “then”, read the definition at m-w.com or in your favorite dictionary.

Posted: Jun 18 2004, 09:58 AM by FifteenSeconds | with 3 comment(s)

Comments

Raj Kaimal said:

On a different note, I hear lots of people using the word "anyways" instead of "anyway". Is this slang? thanks.
# June 18, 2004 1:16 PM

michael said:

Other noteables:

there/their/they're
effect/affect

...and 'alot' is two words. 'A' and 'alot'!
# June 18, 2004 1:38 PM

Fifteenseconds said:

"Anyway" is the correct word. "Anyway" is often incorrectly pronounced "anyways".

"A lot" is the correct spelling; however, writers are asked to use the word "much" or "many" instead.

There are many mistakes made in written usage, the reason I honed in on "then/than" is because they are two distinct words with two distinct meanings that shouldn't cause any confusion, except that they sound somewhat similar.

And, it seems when enough people make the same mistake, it somehow becomes acceptable, so we need prevent this as much as possible. :)
# June 18, 2004 1:53 PM
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