In all my years of teaching adults, I find that this is the most challenging question in a writing exercise. The million-dollar question is: “Do I use then or than?”

Oftentimes, when I correct students’ written work or read emails from companies whose first language isn’t English, I see many mistakes with the words “then” and “than”. This is because they are pronounced the same, but when we talk about writing, they have different meanings.

Before we go any further, I’d like to tell you that it’s normal to commit these mistakes; after all, you’re a student learning every day.

When writing a professional email, you wouldn’t want to have grammatical errors, and this is why I’m going to teach you, in very Simple words, how to use “then” and “than.”

Which one of these is right?

“He is taller than me.”

“He is taller than me.”

“We will go to the mall, then to my house.”

“We will go to the mall, then to my house.”

Please write it down in the comment section.

Well, believe it or not, when we talk about spoken English, it doesn’t matter which one, because they have the same pronunciation. Still, in written communication, especially in a business context, it is crucial to understand the difference. This will show your reader that you dominate the English language.

Then, with an “e” indicates time.

Just like in our example form before: “we will go to the mall, then to my house.”

Another example is:

“We’ll have to wait until then.”

“I lived in Toronto back then.”

Than with an “a” is used in comparisons

Just like in our example:

“he is taller than me.”

Other examples are:

“She is younger than I am.”

“He is greater than this.”

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