🔑 Key Difference

• Then: Refers to time or a sequence of events. It answers “When?” or “What happens next?”
• Than: Used for comparisons. It answers “How does this differ?”

1. Then (Time/Sequence)

What It Means:

• Then is an adverb often used to show what happens next or at a specific time.

Examples:

1. “First, we’ll have dinner, and then we’ll watch a movie.” 🍽️➡️🎥
2. “If it rains, then we’ll stay inside.” 🌧️🏠

How to Remember:

Think of then as the word that moves time forward or sets up a condition.

Common Mistakes:

• ❌ “I would rather stay home then go out.”
  • Why wrong?: The sentence should show comparison.
• ✅ “I would rather stay home than go out.”

2. Than (Comparison)

What It Means:

• Than is a conjunction used to compare two things.

Examples:

1. “She runs faster than her brother.” 🏃‍♀️>🏃‍♂️
2. “This pizza is better than the one we had last time.” 🍕

How to Remember:

Think of than as a word that points out differences.

Common Mistakes:

• ❌ “We went to dinner, and than we went home.”
  • Why wrong?: The sentence is showing a sequence of events.
• ✅ “We went to dinner, and then we went home.”

🎭 Analogy

Imagine two actors:

• Then is like a stage manager organizing events, saying, “Next up, we’ll do this!”
• Than is like a judge comparing two performances, asking, “Which one was better?”

💡 Pro Tip

• Than and comparison both contain the letter a.
• Then and time both contain the letter e.

📝 Practice Time!

Fill in the blanks with then or than:

1. I would rather read a book ______ watch TV.
2. We had lunch, and ______ we went shopping.
3. He is taller ______ his father.
4. Finish your homework, and ______ you can play outside.

✅ Answers:

1. than
2. then
3. than
4. then