How to Write Better Papers in High School and College by Using 'then' and 'than' Properly

One of the most frequent grammatical errors I see when I grade students' papers is improper use of the words then and than. Here's how to use them correctly.

Instructions

1. Use 'then' to refer to a specific time in the past or a time period that occurred after another. "We went then." "We went to the park, then we went to the school."

2. Use 'then'--sparingly--as a 'sentence particle' that serves as a literary pause with the connotation of 'therefore' or 'thus'. "It appears, then, that we should not invest in their company."

3. Use 'than' for comparisons. "I'm taller than you."

4. Some traditional grammarians would warn that the subject of a than clause should be in the nominative/subject case. This really only matters with pronouns. So, although the language gurus debate this point, it's probably safer to write "He's taller than I." instead of "He's taller than me." That doesn't sound natural at all, but the rationale is that it's understood that when you make a statement like "He's taller than I," you're really saying "He's taller than I AM." So, I generally try to err on the side of caution and include the verb in the clause and write, for example, "He's taller than I am," instead of the other two alternatives.

5. Be mindful of your usage of 'then' an 'than' because using the wrong word from this pair is one of the most glaring mechanical errors to graders.