Many English words sound alike, even though they have different meanings. This is especially true of a pair of words, then and than.
They are almost homophones, so it is often hard to tell them apart. Fortunately, the difference between than and then is just one letter.
What is the Difference Between Than and Then?
Then and than are a pair of very similar words, but they have very different meanings. The former is an adverb, noun or adjective that describes the past or upcoming time in question, while the latter is an adverb, noun, or adjective used to describe something that happens afterward or in addition to the event it describes.
A nifty trick for telling them apart is to look at their pronunciations. Then is a smooth-flowing vowel, while than is a guttural uh. The f alot of people make the mistake of using them interchangeably, and their pronunciations can be deceiving. For the best results, use them correctly with a little extra time on your side for a thorough proofread. It will save you from the embarrassing mistakes that can be made with such close cousins as then and than.
Than is an Adverb
Every day, we compare things, places, and people by using words such as than, more, and less. These words are adverbs of comparison, or comparative form.
They describe the manner in which an action is carried out, and they can also modify other adverbs. Often adverbs end in the suffix -ly, but this is not always true.
Generally, adverbs are placed before or after the verb in a sentence. They can also be used as prepositions.
Adverbs are a type of sentence modifier that gives a greater description to a verb, adjective, other adverbs, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence. They can change the meaning of a sentence to provide information about time, place, manner, frequency, certainty, or other verb phrases.
Than is a Conjunction
Than is a conjunction, a word that links two clauses. It is also a subordinating conjunction, meaning it establishes a comparison between two things or events.
Than can also be used as an adverb, meaning it is used to describe a time or sequence of events. It is also a coordinating conjunction, meaning it links two halves of a compound predicate to create a complete sentence.
When you’re writing in English, it’s important to know which of these words is appropriate for what you’re saying. This will help your writing read better and make it easier to understand. These words sound similar, so it’s easy to mix them up! Learn about the difference between then and than so you don’t get it wrong. It’s a good idea to practice using these words as often as possible so that you’ll become familiar with them.
Than is a Noun
Nouns are words that name people, places, things and ideas. They are one of the four major word classes along with verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
Nouns can be singular or plural. A singular noun names a single person, place or thing; a plural noun names several people, places or things.
There are many different types of nouns, including proper nouns, common nouns and abstract nouns. Proper nouns are usually written in capital letters, and they refer to categories of people or animals. Concrete nouns are the names of things that we can see and touch, while abstract nouns are words that describe ideas or feelings.
Than is a Pronoun
The grammatical particle than is both a conjunction and a preposition. It introduces a comparison and is associated with comparatives, as well as words such as more, less, and fewer.
Than is usually used to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates. It is also commonly used to indicate a difference between two elements in a comparison: She is a better athlete than I.
Grammarians have a number of rules concerning than, one of which states that it must follow whom, not who, in comparisons. However, this mandatory exception is criticized as logically erroneous, inconsistent with well-established usage, and inconsistent with a broader rule that governs the use of than in conjunction with other nouns and pronouns.