The last Grammar Giggles had a glaring error in it. I knew when I started this gig that my audience was going to be one of the toughest out there, but decided to go for it anyway. The people who follow me have been much more than kind when I do make a mistake (yeah, it happens). One of my friends sent me a very nice email with a great graphic to ask me if she was correct and I was wrong, I’m going to use her “infographic” as my blog post this week. In the Grammar Giggles, it said that something “was easier then trying to explain.” “Then” should have been “than.” I have lots of things I can blame it on, but it was wrong and I knew better. Thanks to Stephanie for being so nice about my error and giving me a great example for a topic for this week.
“Then” has an element of time.
- He ate dinner and then decided on dessert. (After dinner the next thing in time that happened was deciding on dessert.)
“Than” refers to a comparison.
- He would rather take the light rail to work than drive to work every day. (Comparison between riding the light rail and driving.)
Grammar Girl says to make it easier to remember, note that “then” and “time” both contain the letter “e” and “than” and “comparison” both have the letter “a.”
I will take more time to read my posts rather than a cursory review so that the entries are then correct.
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