Better Than or Better Then?

It’s August. With any luck, you’re relaxing somewhere, enjoying your favorite {adult} beverage. So, I’ll get right to the point: “then” and “than” are NOT the same word. And here’s the basic difference:

• “Then” is used when you’re talking about something relating to time. It’s the choice for phrases like “just then,” “back then,” and “every now and then.” And after words like “since” and “until.”
• “Than” is the got-to when you’re talking about comparisons: “older than,” “stronger than,” “less than,” “bigger than.” It also follows the words “other” and “rather.”

Just to make life difficult, there is an exception. “Than” is also the correct choice when you’re talking about something that happens immediately after something else: “No sooner had I explained the difference between the two words than she came up with an exception.”

Fun Fact: In Middle English (the language spoken in England from roughly 1100 to 1500), “then” and “than” were used interchangeably. Yes, they’ve been two distinct words for hundreds of years – but is it any wonder we still get them confused?