To Suck or Not To Suck? [Writing Tips]

|16| Then vs. Than

Its been a while, but I'm back with a new topic!

Thanks to PoliticallyInc0rrect for requesting.

Okay, so let's say you find a story.

Its got a really great description, so you decide to read it.

A few chapters in, and you're stopped by the metaphorical brick wall that is bad grammar.

Of course, there's a lot of grammar mistakes, but one I see occur all too often would be:

I love you more then life itself.

I went to the mall, than I went to the park.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

I'm sorry, but this is my only response to that mistake.

I understand some people don't see the difference, but there IS a difference.

Let me break it down to you all:

Then is used to show what you did at a certain time.

Than is used to show a comparison.

Switch those two underlined words in the sentences above. When you do, you get this:

I love you more than life itself. Here than is used to tell the person that their love for them is greater than life.

I went to the mall, then I went to the park. Then is used to show what the person did after you left the mall.

It's really not that hard, and there's not much to get into.

To Suck

Messing up the simple things. This will seriously cause some people to cringe, and I am one of them.

Not To Suck

There's only a one letter difference, so when you're writing, focus on getting the right vowel. And if you think about it, when "than" is in the place of "then" and vice versa, it doesn't sound all that correct in the first place.