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The Lowdown on Different Than
Those who care about language sometimes discover they’ve been misled. Teachers, parents, or other trusted authority figures have been known to
proclaim as rules what turn out to be myths, opinions, or whims about English usage.
In recent years we have debunked some of these baseless “rules,” and gotten a lot of heat from frustrated readers. Who can blame them?
Yet today we’re at it again, taking on another long-standing commandment: Always say different from because different than is
incorrect. Upon further review this rule cannot be substantiated.
It has some impressive defenders, though: “In educated American usage, one thing is different from another, not different than another” (Claire
Kehrwald Cook, Line by Line). “Comparative adjectives take than … Different takes from” (John B.
Bremner, Words on Words).
Most writers prefer different from over different than when the phrase precedes a noun or pronoun: Dogs are different from cats. But different from does not always work preceding a clause. Consider this sentence: It is no different for men than it is for women. Using different than results in a clear, straightforward sentence. The
supposedly grammatical alternative would be bloated and clumsy: It is no different for men from the way it is for women.
In Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words Bill Bryson cites this sentence: How different things appear in Washington than in London. If we changed the sentence to How different things appear in Washington from how they appear in London, Bryson states, “all it gives you is more words, not better
grammar.”
“The idea that there is anything wrong with different than is a superstition,” says Roy H. Copperud in his Dictionary of Usage and Style. Bergen and Cornelia Evans’s Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage concurs: “No one has
any grounds for condemning others who would rather say different than, since this construction is used by some of the most sensitive writers of
English and is in keeping with the fundamental structure of the language.”
Does this mean you should now write different than every chance you get? We certainly wouldn’t. There may be nothing grammatically wrong
with different than, but it remains polarizing. A is different than B comes across as sloppy to a lot of literate readers. If you can
replace different than with different from without having to rewrite the rest of the sentence, we recommend doing so.
Because of the e-newsletter’s large readership, please submit your English usage questions through GrammarBook.com’s “Grammar Blog.” |
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 Wordplay
Interesting Places to Visit
I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
I’ve also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. There’s no airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family, and work.
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’ve never been good at that.
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I’ve been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more and more often nowadays.
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenaline flowing.
And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not.
People keep telling me I’m in Denial but I’m positive I’ve never been there before!
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
