{"id":2546,"date":"2017-09-05T23:15:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T05:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2546"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:24:54","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:24:54","slug":"diving-back-into-different-from-and-different-than","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/adjectives-adverbs\/diving-back-into-different-from-and-different-than\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving Back Into Different From<\/em> and Different Than<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s\u00a0d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu\u00a0<\/em>for linguistic purists and caretakers of American English: We\u2019re reading an article, having a chat, listening to the radio, or watching TV, and we receive the expression that something is\u00a0different than<\/em> something else.<\/p>\n

We close our eyes, lower our chin, softly sigh, and shake our head.<\/p>\n

No matter what we do, we just can\u2019t make it stop.<\/p>\n

We touched on this topic in\u00a02007<\/a>\u00a0and then again in 2015<\/a>. In those entries\u2014one short, one more in depth\u2014we reinforced that\u00a0different from\u00a0<\/em>is the standard phrase and that careful scholars and writers often avoid\u00a0different than.<\/em>\u00a0William Shakespeare himself chose\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0The Comedy of Errors:\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThis week he hath been heavy, sour, sad \/ And much different from the man he was \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

We also identified that both different from<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0have been circulating for centuries, often interchangeably, even among reputable writers. In addition, we pointed out that the common aversion to different than<\/em> may be more magnified than needed.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re revisiting the subject because the line between different from<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0different than<\/em> only gets thinner. We could even argue that\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0is overtaking its counterpart, gradually in writing and rapidly in speech. The mainstream has instituted this grammatical mutation\u2014it\u2019s here to stay.<\/p>\n

Today, we maintain that in most cases\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0remains the preferred usage for astute writers and grammarians. At the same time, we acknowledge that proper English retains room for different than<\/em>\u00a0when used with savvy awareness.<\/p>\n

Conceding to both phrases as lasting, we follow up to offer you, our careful-writer community, additional insight in helping us continue to apply them with polish and grace.<\/p>\n

Different from<\/em> is a separating phrase followed by a noun or pronoun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alone, the adjective\u00a0different<\/em>\u00a0is not comparative; it differentiates one thing (noun or pronoun)\u00a0from<\/em> another.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong>
\nMy guitar is\u00a0different from<\/em> your ukulele.<\/p>\n

I just noticed the blouse I bought last week is\u00a0different from\u00a0<\/em>yours. I had thought they were similar.<\/p>\n

Different than\u00a0<\/em>is a comparative phrase usually followed by a clause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The logic here is\u00a0than<\/em>\u00a0typically follows a comparative adjective such as\u00a0stronger<\/em>, shorter<\/em>, or simpler<\/em>\u00a0or a comparative phrase such as\u00a0more colorful\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0more legible.<\/em><\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong>
\nJohn is\u00a0stronger than<\/em>\u00a0Thomas.<\/p>\n

Her handwriting is\u00a0more legible than<\/em>\u00a0his.<\/p>\n

The same reasoning applies to when we wish to use different than<\/em>.\u00a0The distinction is we will most often follow\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0with a clause instead of a noun or a pronoun.\u00a0Than<\/em> thus serves a sentence as a conjunction that sets up the clause.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/strong>
\nThe cuisine was\u00a0different than\u00a0<\/em>he thought it would be. (We can interpret this sentence as being more comparative than separating;\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0further lets us be vague if we wish or need to be: perhaps the cuisine was better than he thought it would be, or maybe it wasn\u2019t.)<\/p>\n

Her mood is\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0it was yesterday. (Again, another suggestive comparison with room to be vague if it\u2019s needed: maybe her mood is better, or maybe it\u2019s worse. The writer might have a reason to keep it open ended.)<\/p>\n

Different than<\/em>\u00a0followed by a clause also sounds crisper than if we clung to our purist\u2019s alternative:<\/p>\n

The cuisine was\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0what he thought it would be. (Because\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0separates instead of compares, this statement could also imply the food itself was different, e.g., fish instead of meat, as opposed to general cuisine prepared by college interns instead of professional chefs, which could indicate a comparison.)<\/p>\n

Her mood is\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0what it was yesterday. (Beyond adding a word, the phrase makes the statement more stilted.)<\/p>\n

If our inner purist demands we stand by\u00a0different from<\/em>\u2014i.e., we insist on (correctly) conveying separation\u2014we would simply replace the clause with a noun or a pronoun:<\/p>\n

The cuisine was\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0his idea of it.<\/p>\n

Her mood is\u00a0different from<\/em>\u00a0yesterday\u2019s. (This is also perhaps more-concise writing.)<\/p>\n

On a related note, the verb\u00a0differ<\/em>\u00a0always pairs with from<\/em>. The adverb\u00a0differently<\/em>\u00a0can take either\u00a0from<\/em>\u00a0or than<\/em> depending on the writer\u2019s aim for concision in expressing comparison or separation:<\/p>\n

You do that\u00a0differently than<\/em>\u00a0I do (as opposed to You do that\u00a0differently from<\/em>\u00a0how I do it).<\/p>\n

In the end, this topic is a matter of extra-fine nuance often noticed only by alert and knowledgeable readers. Many people will not distinguish the phrases but rather use them interchangeably or prefer\u00a0different than<\/em>\u00a0in everyday communication.<\/p>\n

Let that not deter us, however: as grammarians and careful writers, we can still maneuver the space that will always be a push and pull between a phrasal yin-yang.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Based on our current discussion, choose the phrase that best suits the context. Answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.<\/p>\n

1) The dresser in Julia\u2019s room is (different from \/ different than) the one in Cristina\u2019s.<\/p>\n

2) Jason solved that puzzle (differently from how \/ differently than) Jacob did it.<\/p>\n

3) This season\u2019s concerts in the park (differ from \/ differ than) last season\u2019s.<\/p>\n

4) The play the coach called was (different from \/ different than) the one the quarterback wanted to run.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) The dresser in Julia\u2019s room is\u00a0different from<\/strong>\u00a0the one in Cristina\u2019s.
\nThe statement is more separating than comparative. Another sign pointing toward different from<\/em>\u00a0is the noun\u2014\u201cthe one\u201d\u2014(as opposed to a clause) that follows the phrase.<\/p>\n

2) Jason solved that puzzle\u00a0differently from how<\/strong>\u00a0\/\u00a0differently than<\/strong>\u00a0Jacob did it.
\nIf the observer is expressing that Jason\u2019s solution is better than Jacob\u2019s (faster, more thorough, etc.), then\u00a0differently than<\/em>\u00a0is correct. However, if expressing only that the solutions were different (i.e., separating them), then\u00a0differently from how<\/em> is preferred. Note here also the use of a clause\u2014\u201cJacob did it\u201d\u2014instead of a noun or pronoun after the phrase; this may often lean toward\u00a0differently than<\/em>.<\/p>\n

3) This season\u2019s concerts in the park\u00a0differ from<\/strong>\u00a0last season\u2019s.
\nDiffer than<\/em>\u00a0is never correct.<\/p>\n

4) The play the coach called was\u00a0different from<\/strong>\u00a0the one the quarterback wanted to run.
\nSince we can\u2019t know what the outcome was of the play the quarterback wanted to run, we can only say the plays were different and not that one was better than the other\u2014i.e., the statement is more separating than comparative. Therefore, different from<\/em>\u00a0is preferred. Also note the use of a noun (\u201cthe one\u201d) instead of a clause after the phrase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s\u00a0d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu\u00a0for linguistic purists and caretakers of American English: We\u2019re reading an article, having a chat, listening to the radio, or watching TV, and we receive the expression that something is\u00a0different than something else. We close our eyes, lower our chin, softly sigh, and shake our head. No matter what we do, we just can\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,50,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-different-from-vs-different-than","category-prepositions"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}