Than vs. Then How to Choose the Right Word

Because the words than and then sound alike, they are sometimes confused. Although they  were once used interchangeably—indeed centuries ago their spellings and pronunciations frequently interchanged—now there is a clear difference between them. Use than to make a comparison; use then to place events in time or things in order. How to Use Than The function word than is used to indicate a point of difference or comparison, as in: Shes taller than you are. Than usually follows a comparative  form,  but it can also follow words such as other  and  rather. The grandmasters of style, William Strunk and E.B. White, in their book, The Elements of Style, say that you should carefully examine any sentence with than to ensure that no essential words are missing. For example, if you say, Im probably closer to my mother than my father, this is an ambiguous sentence, say Strunk and White. Its unclear in this comparison if the speaker is closer to her mother than she is to her father or whether she is closer to her mother than her father is. To use than correctly, the writer could instead say, Im probably closer to my mother than I am to my father or Im probably closer to my mother than my father is. This makes the comparison clear in each case. How to Use Then The adverb then means at that time, in that case, or next, as in: He laughed and then he cried. This use of then orders events in terms of time. A similar use of then when placing events in order might be, I first went to the store, and then I got gas. Merriam-Webster notes that you can also use then to denote a previous time: Back  then, children played outside a lot more often. This means that in a previous era, children spent less time indoors. You can also use then to order items, as in: I first counted the bills and then counted the change. Or, Finish your homework, and then you can watch TV. Examples When trying to determine whether you should use than or then, remember that than makes a comparison, whereas then involves ordering events or items. Take the sentence: The quiz was harder than I had expected. In this case, you are making an implied comparison; the test was more difficult than your previous expectations of the test. By contrast, if you say: I answered two questions and then got stuck. You are ordering events; you first answered two questions and then (subsequently), you were stumped. George Orwell, in his classic book Animal Farm, shows how you can use both then and than in the same sentence: Snowball was racing across the long pasture that led to the road. He was running as only a pig can run, but the dogs were close on his heels. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him.  Then he was up again, running faster  than ever, then the dogs were gaining on him again. In the final sentence in this passage, the first use of then orders events, noting that Snowball, the pig, slipped and then was up again. The sentence then makes a comparison using the word than: Snowball was running faster than he ran before. Then the sentence again orders events: Snowball was running faster (than ever), but the dogs were then (subsequently) gaining on him. How to Remember the Difference The character Judge Daniel Phelan speaking to Detective Jimmy McNulty in the episode â€Å"One Arrest in the television show, The Wire, explained how to tell the difference between then and than in an impromptu grammar lesson: Look here, Jimmy. You misspelled culpable. And you’re confusing then and than. T-h-e-n is an adverb used to divide and measure time. Detective McNulty makes a mess, and then he has to clean it up. Not to be confused with t-h-a-n, which is most commonly used after a comparative adjective or adverb, as in: Rhonda is smarter than Jimmy. Additionally, both than and comparison have the letter a in them, and then and time both contain the letter e. Or you can remember that than is a comparative adjective or adverb, and both have the letter a, as in: This is bigger than that. By contrast, then and extra both have the letter e. When you are ordering a list or events, you are adding something extra to the previous item, as in: He did this, then he did that, and then he did this other thing. Sources Associated Press Stylebook, The. Basic Books, 2018.How to Use Then and Than | Ask The Editor | Learners Dictionary.Strunk, William, and E. B. White.  The Elements of Style. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.Then’ Versus ‘Than.  Quick and Dirty Tips, Grammar Girl, 27 Oct. 2017.