This pair is a grammar classic. Show me an English teacher who hasn't seen this: "I'm smarter then my sister." No, you're obviously not. If you were, you'd have better control of the language. Now go sit down. You've forfeited your chance to participate the remainder of the day.
Than is used when you're making comparisons or contrasts. "I'm smarter than you." "You're dumber than me." "My dog is better looking than yours."
Then is correct when one thing results from another. "We washed the car, and then we waxed it." "We'll go to dinner, and then we'll go to the movie."
Whenever a student makes a hideous error with these, I get madder than a hornet. Then I have to take some aspirin to cure the headache I've incurred from banging my head against the wall.
Excuse me. I have to go clean my erasers. I'm sure I'll be clapping my head with them soon.
About Me
- Random Musings
- Obviously, the picture is not of me. It's our pride and joy, Daisy. She's a lot better looking than I am, so I figured you'd want to look at her instead. I'll write the posts, however. She can't. She doesn't have opposable thumbs. Currently, I teach high school English, and, since I'm trying to improve the use of language in 16-year-olds, I thought I'd branch out and give some pointers to adults, too. Hope you're not offended. It's just my way of improving the world -- one day at a time. Oh, by the way, I'm always available for freelance writing/editing jobs -- and I'm pretty inexpensive, so. . .
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