Then or Than


Then or that has been something I have been unsure about for some time, since I started learning english. It's one of those grammar problems that I usually get right intuitively but is very hard to communicate to the elementary school kids I tutor. Then and than sound very similar and have such similar meanings that it's hard to tell them apart!

"When I finally learn to use then or than correctly, (then/than) I'll have better english (than or then) all of my peers." My head is spinning with thens and thans! :)

How would you say that correctly?

then than asked Aug 09 '13 at 20:42 Francesca Benetazzo New member

1 answer


'Then' is used to relate to time or the order in which something occurs.

When I get older, then I will be able to do what I want.

If this happens, then that will happen.


'Than' is used to make a comparison.

This one is bigger than that one.

When I finally learn to use then or than correctly, then I'll have better English than all of my peers.


Always capitalize proper nouns such as English or Spanish.

link comment answered Aug 09 '13 at 21:24 Lewis Neidhardt Grammarly Fellow

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