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Then, than, and superlatives

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Then versus than

When you see the words “then” and “than,” you might think they’re pretty similar. If you were just talking about spelling, you’d be right. One thing to remember about English grammar however, is that it’s more about what the word is doing rather than how it looks. Both “then” and “than” are words that we use quite often in English, sadly they’re both misused just as often. To simplify the difference “then” is used to show a reaction or one event happening after another, “than” is used to show preference or to make a comparison.

Why does it matter?

One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen with these two words is accidentally saying they want to do or have everything rather than one particular thing. Here’s an example:

“I’d rather brush my teeth, then have coffee.”

In this sentence we’re saying that first I’ll brush my teeth, and afterwards have coffee. It’s better that we have coffee first because it stains one's teeth.

“I’d rather brush my teeth than have coffee.”

In this example, we’re saying that we would prefer to go ahead and brush our teeth rather instead of having coffee at all. Do you understand the difference?

Now that’s just silly!

This is one of those small rules that can sound somewhat funny if someone doesn’t know what you mean. It doesn’t end with coffee and brushing one’s teeth however, one could make this mistake in countless other scenarios. Let’s look at another example,

“He’d rather cut his hair, then tie it in a knot.”

This is where we find some difficulty. If your hair is already short from being cut, how will you tie it in a knot?

“He’d rather cut his hair than tie it in a knot.”

Now we’re making more sense. Rather than tie it everyday, he’s just going to go to the barbershop.

What about superlatives?

Superlatives are forms of adjectives, which generally are used to compare three or more things. They can also tell about something that performs to the highest or lowest level. 

How do I make these words?

To make a superlative, you need to ask yourself “how many sounds does the adjective or adverb make?” Those sounds are called “syllables.” If the adjective or adverb has one syllable then you -est at the end. If it has more than one, you leave the spelling alone and add most (or least) before the adjective or adverb. Here are some examples:

“It’s always darkest just before dawn.”

In this example we are comparing the time just before dawn to every other time of day, and we’re saying that at that time there is the least amount of light.

“His shoes were more expensive than his phone or his car.”

This guy likes to invest his money in footwear. What we’re saying in this sentence is that he spends the most of his shoes when we compare his spending between his phone, his car, and his shoes.

New vocabulary word!

Alternate

Adjective 

  • A second choice or another option.
  • Every second option in groups of four or more.
  • Two things arranged next to one another or on top of one another.

 

His GPS had given him an update, “There is an alternate route available, you can save ten minutes.” He took the alternate street and arrived ten minutes early.

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