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Discussion » Questions » Language » A serious question...'different than' or 'different from'?

A serious question...'different than' or 'different from'?

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Posted - May 3, 2021

Responses


  • 22853
    I have no idea.

    But I would probably understand what was being said anyway.
      May 3, 2021 9:26 AM MDT
    1

  • 44175
    I usually say 'different than', but oddly enough, after reading Nevan's answer, I used 'different from' just a few minutes ago.
      May 3, 2021 10:26 AM MDT
    1

  • "Different from" is considered to be more standard, though "different than" has been used for decades, including in formal situations. 

    The proscriptive rule is that "than" is only used with comparative adjectives and "different" is not a comparative adjective, therefore "different from" is correct.

    This recipe is different from the one I followed last week. 
    They're all different, but some are more different than others.

    In the second sentence, "more different" is a comparative adjective, so "than" is used. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at May 3, 2021 10:41 AM MDT
      May 3, 2021 9:30 AM MDT
    3

  • 44175
    Thanks.
      May 3, 2021 9:37 AM MDT
    2