Amira Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Which do you use? These shoes are different from those. This museum is different to that one. My ice cream tastes different than yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Than and from--I think I use them slightly differently, than sounds better in some contexts and from in others. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Than. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathmarm Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I have never thought Different "to" sounded right. When I speak its 'different from' and/or 'different than' but I couldn't tell you under the circumstances, just whichever one seems 'right'. Without being a grammar guru, I would say 'different to', as used in the example, is wrong. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Different from is standard, but different than is fine. Different to doesn't make sense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I tend to use only different from From Oxford dictionary "In practice, different from is by far the most common of the three, in both British and American English: Different than is mainly used in American English: Different to is much more common in British English than American English" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 from. My friends from India learned "different to." They also say "older to" etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I don't think I've ever heard anyone use "different to". That actually sounds like an oxymoron to me, as "different" separates, and "to" joins. I use either from or than, depending on the context. I'm not sure how I would differentiate to explain. Like others have said, one just sounds better in some sentences, and the other sounds better in others. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 different than Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I say "different from" and sometimes, "different than". I've never heard a native speaker of American English use "different to". I have heard "different to" quite a bit from British English speakers. Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I don't think I've ever heard anyone use "different to". That actually sounds like an oxymoron to me, as "different" separates, and "to" joins. I wonder if "different to" is actually a short form of "different as compared to" something. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Different than jumps into my head if I think about a casual conversation with my daughter. If I am thinking about a more professional conversation or one where I am being more specific, like a math class, then I would use different from. Hmmmm. I never realized I used one form over the other in different situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Interesting. I was taught that "different than" was absolutely wrong. Maybe my teacher was absolutely wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 from I once read that you'll always remember which to use if you use "differ" in place of "different." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 All of the above. I think I use "different than" more in conversation, though. "Different to" only in writing, and occasionally. Aha. This explains it: https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/different-from-different-than-different-to/ Exactly. I read the British papers and British literature for my field, but speak almost totally with Americans, Canadians, and other North Americans or expats. This graph explains my use of prepositions with "different" exactly. I am a descriptivist, not prescriptivist. It is my job to tell my kids what will be clear and what will make them look literate, not what's right and wrong in grammar. Language is the human song and it is allowed to change and evolve. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Than and from--I think I use them slightly differently, than sounds better in some contexts and from in others. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 From. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest onnianfage Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I think I use them slightly differently, than sounds better in some contexts and from in others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I've never heard "different to." Sounds weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 From and than. Different to was used where we lived in Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I am a descriptivist, not prescriptivist. It is my job to tell my kids what will be clear and what will make them look literate, not what's right and wrong in grammar. Language is the human song and it is allowed to change and evolve. This exactly! It is very odd to me that some people will declare commonly used and understood formations to be grammatically incorrect--as if grammar were some stagnant, unchangeable thing with rules set in stone. I wonder what speakers of Old English would think of our modern rules of grammar? There have been a few changes over the years... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiden Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I usually say different from when I'm referring to objects: these shoes are different from, this museum is different from, etc. However, in your last example, "this ice cream tastes different than" sounds right. I think it's because of the grammatical structure of the sentence. It seems that "different" actually is an adverb modifying "tastes" rather than an adjective modifying "ice cream." In that case, it technically should be "this ice cream tastes differently than that ice cream (tastes)." I wouldn't actually use the word "differently" instead of "different," as that would sound too formal to me. But I do naturally change "from" to "than" when using that kind of grammatical structure. Eta: I would say "this ice cream is different from that ice cream," but it tastes different than that ice cream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I think the BBC uses "different to" -- or at least quotes people saying that without correction. I've always used "from". Consciously. "Than" is something I'd use in a sentence like "my ice cream is sweeter than yours" so I can see it creeping in to "different than" without my realizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Than or From. Never To! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 This is cracking me up--There's a Polident commercial where the spokesperson says, "Dentures are different to real teeth!" Drives.me.nuts. I actually yell at the TV. Now I see it's an option. Who knew? :laugh: (Oh, wait--I need a smilie with teeth... :lol: There we go.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 The descriptivist/prescriptivist comment reminded me of this, which is closer to my views: http://www.copyediting.com/prescriptivist-vs-descriptivist-battle-straw-men Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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