than, then

than, then
These words are often confused in writing and sometimes in pronunciation. Than is a conjunction in clauses of comparison: "He worked better today than he did yesterday." Then is an adverb of time: "We then went to a restaurant." Think of than only as a conjunction; it will then be easy to remember that a following pronoun should have the same case as its antecedent. Say "Everyone knows more about the situation than he." Say "The supervisors counted on no one more than him." "Someone then remarked: 'It is better to remain silent and have some people think me stupid than to say something and remove all possible doubt. '"

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • than / then —    Than is used to compare: Philippa Byrd thinks she is smarter than any of us.    Then is a word to describe a time that is not now: I prefer Friday; it would be better to meet then because then I will be ready …   Confused words

  • than / then —    Than is used to compare: Philippa Byrd thinks she is smarter than any of us.    Then is a word to describe a time that is not now: I prefer Friday; it would be better to meet then because then I will be ready …   Confused words

  • Than — ([th][a^]n), conj. [OE. than, thon, then, thanne, thonne, thenne, than, then, AS. [eth]anne, [eth]onne, [eth][ae]nne; akin to D. dan, OHG. danne, G. dann then, denn than, for, Goth. [thorn]an then, and to E. the, there, that. See {That}, and cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • than — /dhan, dhen/; unstressed /dheuhn, euhn/, conj. 1. (used, as after comparative adjectives and adverbs, to introduce the second member of an unequal comparison): She s taller than I am. 2. (used after some adverbs and adjectives expressing choice… …   Universalium

  • than — I. conjunction Etymology: Middle English than, then then, than more at then Date: before 12th century 1. a. used as a function word to indicate the second member or the member taken as the point of departure in a comparison expressive of… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • then — I. adverb Etymology: Middle English than, then then, than, from Old English thonne, thænne; akin to Old High German denne then, than, Old English thæt that Date: before 12th century 1. at that time 2. a. soon after that ; next in order of time …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • than — [[t]ðæn, ðɛn[/t]] unstressed [[t]ðən, ən[/t]] conj. 1) fun (used after comparative adjectives and adverbs and certain other words, such as other, otherwise, else, etc., to introduce the second member of a comparison): She s taller than I am[/ex]… …   From formal English to slang

  • then — See than. See than, then …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • than — /ðæn / (say dhan), weak form /ðən / (say dhuhn) conjunction 1. a particle used after comparative adjectives and adverbs and certain other words, such as other, otherwise, else, etc., to introduce the second member of a comparison: she is taller… …  

  • than — See than, then …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

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