- How To
- Then vs Than
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As a volunteer editor in the Literotica Editor's Program, one of my biggest pet peeves is the consistent misuse of the word then for the word than by many writers. There is a BIG difference my friends! Does anyone else's skin crawl when they see a sentence like this . . . His cock was bigger then most . . . or even this . . . We can talk it over than decide what to do? . . . shudders.
We have to educate ourselves as authors on the correct usage of words if we want to be appreciated by our audience (the readers). When a reader picks a story to sit back and well you know what to . . . smiles, he/she doe s not want to have to stumble over incorrect usage of a word. It is agitating and sometimes can and does mean the difference between a 4 and a 5 vote . . . yes one word can do it! As we are all too aware, if you don't use proper English grammar, spelling, punctuation and word usage . . . you will lose that reader and he/she may never come back again.
I have searched high and low throughout the Writer's Resources and surprisingly could not find one article that even mentions the problem. After researching the two words I have come up with my own How To on the subject. So here goes . . . my How To on the use of then vs than . . .
Merriam-Webster, which by the way is my favorite online Dictionary source, is the subject of this portion of the article.
It says that the function of then as an adverb is this:
1 : at that time 2 a : soon after that: next in order of time . . . He walked to the door, then turned. b: following next after in order of position, narration, or enumeration: being next in a series . . . First came the clown, then came the elephants. c. in addition: Besides . . . Then there is the interest to be paid. 3 a (1) : in that case . . . Take it, then, if you want it so much. (2) : used after but to qualify or offset a preceding statement . . . She lost the race, but then she never really expected to win. b : according to that: as may be inferred . . . Your mind is made up, then? c : as it appears: by the way of summing up . . . The cause of the accident, then, is established. d : as a necessary consequence . . . If the angles equal, then the complements are equal. - and then some: with much more in addition . . . It would require all his strength and then some.
The function of then as a noun is this:
--that time . . . Since then, he's been more cautious.
The function of then as an adjective is this:
--existing or acting at or belonging to the time mentioned . . . The then secretary of state was . . .
Now for Merriam-Webster's take on the word than . . .
The function of than as a conjunction is this:
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 inequality; used with comparative adjectives and comparative adverbs . . . She is older than I am. It is easier said than done. b : used as a function word to indicate difference of kind, manner, or identity; used especially with some adjectives and adverbs that express diversity . . . I'd rather be anywhere else than at home right now. 2 : rather than -- usually used only after prefer, preferable, and preferably . . . I would prefer to be tall rather than being too short. 3 : other than . . . Other than the usual day to day activities, we like to take a walk in the park before dark.
The function of than as a preposition is this:
--in comparison with . . . You are older than me.
And just so I'm not accused of playing favorites I will site from a few more online sources . . .
WordNet shows the correct usage of the word then:
The then president took over the problem; We will arrive before then; We were friends from then on; Then he left; Go left first, then right; First came lightening and then thunder; We watched the late movie and then went to bed; If he didn't take it then who did?; The case, then is closed; You've made up your mind then?; Prices were lower back then; They you'll be rich; I was younger then; Keep it then if you want to.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms sites these instances where than is used correctly:
Actions speak louder than words; His bark is worse than his bite; Better safe than sorry; Better late than never; Don't bite off more than you can chew; Blood is thicker than water; Your eyes are bigger than your stomach; He's more fun than a barrel of monkeys; More often than not; It was more than she bargained for; It was more than one could shake a stick at; There are more ways than one to skin a cat; No sooner said than done; Quicker than you can say Jack Robinson; None other than.
Ok, enough of that . . . I don't want to overload you with information. I think you have the point by now. So the next time I get a story to edit from you . . . you know who you are . . . there won't be any mistakes using the words then and than. It's really quite simple . . . if you are talking about time then use then and if you are talking about a comparison then use than.
I have one Author, God bless His soul that always makes this mistake. I have edited over 10 stories for Him now and yes each time He misuses then for than. Don't get me wrong, He is an awesome writer, but so stubborn. I keep telling Him that if I were the Domme and He the submissive, I would have to put Him over my knees and spank Him for His naughtiness . . . lol . . . Hey that might be why He keeps making the mistakes . . . Wicked evil Man that He is.
I know it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but if the dog wants its treat it must learn the trick. So if you want the votes to be high and the feedback to be positive then use proper English PLEASE . . . smiles.
Good luck to all of my fellow authors and editors. May God bless you every one and keep you happily writing and editing for a long time.
- COMMENTS
bigdaddyg123about 1 year ago"Then vs Than": - The words that get my dander up, or "get my goat" (being that I'm from the South) is: They're, There, Their. Those three words are probably the most misused or
misspelled in the English language. Further, my guestimation is those three (3) words might be correctly used, at best, about one-third of the time.
(P.S. To Anonymous "almost 17 years ago:" The word 'ENGLISH' is ALWAYS capitalized)!
Anonymousalmost 6 years agoHuman beings are referred to by the pronoun "who" (or "whom", but the difference between those two is clearly beyond anyone here). Things, animals, and so on, use the pronoun "that".
I would have referred to the author you mentioned at the end of your review by "who" rather than "that", (Although I could see how someone might choose to consider the word "author" as removed enough from the human being to use "that".)
Angel Loveabout 18 years agoAuthorOh gawd you caught me! I put that cite vs site mistake in there on purpose . . . yeah that's it . . . giggles. Sorry folks I guess I need my own editor. Dang an editor that can't find her own mistakes . . . what a putz . . . LOL. Thanks for pointing this one out for me. Where were you when I needed you most?????
Anonymousabout 18 years agoThe practise of 'telepathy and conjuring up mentally projected pictures of your commincations' and sending them to the 'recipeint' with nothing but 'math symbols and annotations to denote meanings':a truely civilized way of communicateing.In those days we called 'the written language' 'programming';'cracking' is more commonly refered to as the 'jedi mind fuck' and 'hacking' is the art of coversationalism. Old English and New English are just so passe when it comes to 'true meanings'(Unless one is truely skilled in the art form:A doctorate in English and Mathematical science is 'required before one can truly expect to communicate to the written languages fullest extent.Otherwise you get the proverbial unblanced eqation;2a=9:or in an english sentence;"If you didn't notice or 'reclaim' about the 'glitch in the matrix'; then you don't deserve to get in and we can keep on treating you like an idiot." or "Well I figured it best to 'wait' to tell you about that information as a surprise but then you scheduled something else so I decided to make the best of your scheduleing mishap.).Most get lost in their own 'feelings' and 'forget they are describeing them instead of writeing a diary entry'. Take me for example;when I write: I got some people 'editing my english prose to become less erotic' because the 'real story is just too good to be wasted to the publix'.Translateing mental pictures into words is an interesting thing;one has to know how to 'describe the scene,settings,and moda' without looseing 'emotional feelings'.
Anonymousabout 18 years agoIf I find too many errors in a piece of work I have to stop reading. This is invaluable advice. Well done.
Anonymousabout 18 years agoLike you, and all those who gave you high marks, I go nuts trying to read a story where a man 'looses' his wife to another, because of the 'affect' of the alcohol she consumed at 'there' party. What truly amazes me, however, is that after I post a comment about these errors, there will usually be a few follow-ups saying "grammer(sic) and spelling aren't a big deal. It was a good story, stop being so picky".
I'm glad to see there are so many others who believe spelling and grammar matter, and that it is an annoyance and a distraction when an author either doesn't know the difference between two words, or simply doesn't care enough to proofread his work.
I would love to see another piece written about another of my pet peeves - people who use an apostrophe whenever a word ends in 's'. Just yesterday, I was driving past a store when I noticed their help wanted sign: "Cashier's wanted. Must work weekend's". If I had more time, I would have gone in and asked for the manager - that's how much this bugs me.
Anyway, this was an enjoyable read - please give us more!
Nigel Tufnel
Anonymousabout 18 years agoAs someone who learned English after he's learned three other languages, let me say English is one of the most interesting languages.
It is very precise and easy to learn, to use, in many ways, once you've learned the TENSE structure (no wonder it has kicked Spanish to the gutters as the dominant international language; even uppercrustic folks don't care too much about French these days!).
And yet, at the same time, English is also a highly unruly language due to the fact that it is very dynamic, incorporating many languages from around the world, not just Latin, French, Greek, etc. --- with a good mixture of convention, grammar, and linguistic rules (with both formal and informal idioms) running through its sinews,,,
In Latin, Spanish, Italian, etc., for example, word pronounciations stay fairly close to how the words are written; but in English, chunks, not just individual letters, are sometimes left unpronounced. That, again, is due more to convention and word-adoption THAN to strict, native grammar and/or linguistic rules.
Non-IndoEuropean languages are, obviously, quite very different in how they are written and spoken, even if, as Chomsky would agree, generally speaking all human have more or less the exact linguistic template. However they mold their tongues over the years to fit their diction needed to describe their immediate environment as well as history, that's something else.
By the way, if any one is interested, CHOMSKY is famous for his theory on human LINGUISTICS, not for his outspoken criticism of idiotic and selfish, self-preserving, double-crossing American foreign "policies," which are really moment to moment impulses of America's alpha males, especially the upper-most top dog, the man occupying the White House.
Whether you like or hate him, Chomsky's considered among (among his peers in scholastic) 20th century's "half dozen" or so "great men" because of his theory on and explication of human linguistics --- a theory that, though, never approaching "hard core" scientific theories like those in chemistry, physics, mathematics, etc. --- is good enough to serve as template for the understanding of human languages.
Angel Loveabout 18 years agoAuthorThank you for all of your comments on this article. There are many more like this in the Writer's Resources here in Lit. The reason why I attacked these two words is because nobody had done them yet. The other homophones that you all speak of have been priorly addressed by other authors. I'm happy that they have done this and see no need to redo what they have already succeeded at accomplishing.
I also saw no need to be neccessarily creative with my article. It was not written to make me stand out above the rest. It was simply written to make a point and to show aspiring writers that there IS a difference and to please use words properly when writing for the public. Be well please and thank you again for all of your feedback. It means a lot to me. Your humble author/editor . . . angel.
louguy35about 18 years agoSome of the most commonly misused words and grammatical errors are:
a) Using "him/her and I" instead of "him/her and me."
b) Not understanding the subjective and objective use of "I" and "me". Not capitalizing "I". The use of "I" and "me" is completely misunderstood, it seems.
c) Using "seen" for "saw" (ie. "I seen him on TV." should be "I saw him on TV.") In other words, screwing up the tense of the verb is very common.
d) Misusing "should" and "would".
e) Using improper punctuation, or not using it when it should be used. Periods, commas, quotation marks, etc., were all developed to help clarify written communication. They should be used properly.
These are just a few of the common misuses of the English language. It is not surprising, though, since most public school teachers can neither speak nor write the language correctly and pay little attention to grammer and spelling. This is just another great success story for the public school emphasis on "self esteem" that puts no value on what is right or wrong.
Anonymousabout 18 years agohave you done this particular pair,Angel ?
It's mission impossible lol
