Then, than, your, you're

[vasouv]

Morning everyone, I may seem like a grammar nazi to you but I really am not, I just need some clarification on the matter because it's confusing some times, I'm not a native English speaker.

So, are these words being used interchangeably nowadays or is it some kind of trend? I've seen (what it seems like) adults use them like so and it baffles me, some times I have to read a sentence twice or more times to understand the meaning. The "your-you're" part I can understand, kids confusing the words but the "then-than" part? I see "than" replacing "then" most of the times lately.

In Greek, we have two spellings for the word "egg" but it's the same word and both spellings sound exactly the same. That's not the case with "then-than", two entirely different words.

My English is not as good as back when I got my Proficiency diploma 8 years ago, I practice it through movies and fora mainly. If something has changed regarding the use of these words, I'd like to know so I can use them accordingly.

I'm sorry if this post seems silly to you but having no other way to communicate in English than Internet fora, I had to ask

 

[canilsen]

Can someone quickly explain when I'm supposed to use "than", because I always end up using "then" in all thinkable situations. Norwegian btw

 

[WTFFFS]

If English is not your first language the internet is not a good place to practice English the majority of persons on the internet have no clue when it comes to the correct usage of it themselves, I'm usually pretty good when it comes to abiding by the rules of grammer but I also am not in any way a student of the English language, my ex-girlfriend had degrees in it and constantly picked me up on what I thought was correct. Basically as far as I'm concerned the majority of non-English speakers do far better at making themselves understood in English than more than a few native speakers, they also do considerably better than I would in say Greek or Norweigan
Than is related to a difference in the subject being discussed "My grammer should be better than a non-native speaker but it frequently isn't", then is generally related to a time frame in a series of somethings "If I studied English then my grammer would improve........hopefully".

 

[Flakjakkit]

If English is not your first language the internet is not a good place to practice English the majority of persons on the internet have no clue when it comes to the correct usage of it themselves, I'm usually pretty good when it comes to abiding by the rules of grammer but I also am not in any way a student of the English language, my ex-girlfriend had degrees in it and constantly picked me up on what I thought was correct. Basically as far as I'm concerned the majority of non-English speakers do far better at making themselves understood in English than more than a few native speakers, they also do considerably better than I would in say Greek or Norweigan
Than is related to a difference in the subject being discussed "My grammer should be better than a non-native speaker but it frequently isn't", then is generally related to a time frame in a series of somethings "If I studied English then my grammer would improve........hopefully".

grammar

 

[WTFFFS]

grammar

meh to spelin (dammit I'm normally good at that lol)

actually to render it into my normal accent it would be "gramma which I'm talkin about on a Thursdy arvo in a bloody heat wave, need some cold tinnies to take the edge orf"

 

[Mikey_R]

Well, starting with your/you're. Your is a possessive word. So it's your diamond pick. You're is a shortening of You are, so you're a player in a Minecraft word.

Then and than might not be as intuitive, but it might be easier if you speak English as a native language. I just use them intuitively and am finding it hard to explain when to use them, but I can use them in sentences and hope you get the general idea.

The next thing to do is build a frame quarry then the sorting system to sort the output.

I will use a Pulveriser as I think it is better than the macerator.

 

[b0bst3r]

I came across a very umm shall we call interesting image of this exact same subject, which hammers the nail home...

Posting a link due to the very blunt nature rather than the image itself.

I'm pretty sure Jadedcat will love this

http://weknowmemes.com/2012/10/theyre-they-fucking-are/

If this is not appropriate for the forum, feel free to delete this post.

 

[Golrith]

Being English myself, I think it's more a case of just "Internet Laziness". I am only thankful that there isn't more L33T speak here, which is the ultimate in laziness.

"Then" is most commonly used when some action is going to follow another action.

"Than" is most commonly used when comparing one item against another item.

Mikey_R's examples above are good examples within a FTB context.

 

[seannyyx]

Then is a past reference. Than is a comparable

Back then I used to be terrible at spelling.

My spelling is better than most idiots on the Internet.

Also don't forget the failures of their there and they're.

Their has i in and is often followed with an s, theirs making it a "mix" of his and hers. The pencil is theirs. Their server is a stupid sever.
There has the word "here" in it.
The server there is a good one. I saw your stuff over there.

They're is a combination of they and are.
They're good at making severs but not at spelling.
Their sever over there that they're making is their last sever they're making.

 

[canilsen]

Thanks for the good answers "I now know more then I used to, and is now a smarter person than I used to be". Did I do good?

 

[Belone]

Something I'd like to throw in the works that has confused for me the better part of a year or so, are less than and fewer. Now I consider myself to be fluent in English, having lived in England for a long time - I like to imagine most people I meet don't even know English isn't my first language, not sure if this is true or I'm just arrogant .

So about a year ago, my then-girlfriend pointed out I was using the word fewer when I actually meant less than. Can anyone explain the difference between these?

 

[seannyyx]

Something I'd like to throw in the works that has confused for me the better part of a year or so, are less than and fewer. Now I consider myself to be fluent in English, having lived in England for a long time - I like to imagine most people I meet don't even know English isn't my first language, not sure if this is true or I'm just arrogant .

So about a year ago, my then-girlfriend pointed out I was using the word fewer when I actually meant less than. Can anyone explain the difference between these?

Could you use them in a sentence?

These are Less than I thought.
There are less than/ fewer than I thought.
There are less and less people correctly using English these days.
There are fewer people using correct English these days.

 

[Omicron]

The satire blog The Oatmeal has some posts on grammar and spelling which are highly amusing and worth a read even for those who are already proficient

10 Words You Need To Stop Misspelling
How To Use An Apostrophe
How To Use A Semicolon
When To Use i.e. In A Sentence
What It Means When You Say "Literally"
The Three Most Common Uses Of Irony

 

[Belone]

Something like:-

I have 5 less apples than you
I have 5 fewer apples than you

Saying them out loud it seems to me that fewer sounds better but to be honest I can't remember now which way round I was saying it or what way I would naturally say it.

 

[Mikey_R]

Thanks for the good answers "I now know more then I used to, and is now a smarter person than I used to be". Did I do good?

Wrong one . I now know more THAN I used to and am now a smarter person than I used to be.

If you use and, you don't put a comma before it, it doesn't need it, and since you are talking about yourself, you use am, infact, thinking about it, you wouldn't use is at all in that context. If you were talking about someone else it would be, 'They know more than they used to and are now smarter than they used to be.'

 

[Mikey_R]

Something like:-

I have 5 less apples than you
I have 5 fewer apples than you

Saying them out loud it seems to me that fewer sounds better but to be honest I can't remember now which way round I was saying it or what way I would naturally say it.

Fewer is the word you want. You use fewer when you have an actual value to use to compare, so a barrel can hold 960 fewer stacks of items than an intra-dimensional barrel. Or, the barrel holds less stacks than the intra-dimensional barrel.

 

[Golrith]

I think fewer is one of those words that are commonly used, even though it is more correct. I can't actually remember when I used the word myself I think I would also use the word Less, or be more inclined to write/say "You have 5 more apples then me".

 

[Katrinya]

Then is a past reference. Than is a comparable.

This. It's actually quite simple. To elaborate, use "than" when you are comparing two subjects. Example:

"His eyes are bluer than yours."

Pretty much every other usage is spelled with an "e", not just the past references. Examples:

"I biked home, then took a nap."
"If you are tired, then you should go to bed."

 

[Morvelaira]

It's not just that 'then' is a past reference - it's that it is a comparison of time. Still connected is the concept of cause and effect, like in the example above. Condition one, tiredness, is in effect therefore the consequence of rest should be followed. In common usage, 'then' replaces 'therefore' in the expanded explanation above.

'Than' is only used in direct comparisons. Peas are greener than strawberries. My cold is worse than yours. 'Then' is used more frequently than 'than'. ;-)

 

[ICountFrom0]

Honestly I tend to sum up this entire concept with one word:
pilkunnussija

I try my best to understand. If I can't I ask people to try again.