I recently posted an answer to the following question at Purdue OWL News:
- My teacher marked off some of my grade because I wrote "Hip-hop is different than rap." He said it was supposed to be "different from," not "different than," but I still don't understand why. Is there really any difference? Or is he just being picky? --Anonymous
1. Winter is colder than summer.
2. Japanese apples are more expensive than American apples.
3. John is faster than David.
4. Giving is better than taking.
In each of the above sentences we are comparing two things. Each sentence also includes a "comparitive adjective or adverb" (比較級=comparative degree)
- A is colder than B (cold + er = colder)
- A is/are more expensive than B (expensive + more = more expensive)
- A is faster than B (fast + er = faster)
- A is better than B (good → better → best)
So how about this sentence?
1. Hip-hop is different than rap.
The word different is an adjective, but it is NOT being used in the comparative degree. So, this sentence is wrong. We cannot say: "Hip-hop is different than rap."
For example, we cannot say the following:
1. Winter is cold than summer.
2. Japanese apples are expensive than American apples.
3. John is fast than David.
4. Giving is good than taking.
Regarding the student's question, he/she could have said this:
- Hip-hop is more different than rap.
- Hip-hop is less different than rap.
Unfortunately, the meaning changes in these examples. The student's teacher was right. The student must say:
- Hip-hop is different from rap.
The American Heritage Dictionary has the following to say:
n.
USAGE NOTE Different from and different than are both common in British and American English. The construction different to is chiefly British. Since the 18th century, language critics have singled out different than as incorrect, though it is well attested in the works of reputable writers. According to traditional guidelines, from is used when the comparison is between two persons or things: My book is different from (not than) yours. Different than is more acceptably used, particularly in American usage, where the object of comparison is expressed by a full clause: The campus is different than it was 20 years ago. Different from may be used with a clause if the clause starts with a conjunction and so functions as a noun: The campus is different from how it was 20 years ago. ? Sometimes people interpret a simple noun phrase following different than as elliptical for a clause, which allows for a subtle distinction in meaning between the two constructions. How different this seems from Paris suggests that the object of comparison is the city of Paris itself, whereas How different this seems than Paris suggests that the object of comparison is something like “the way things were in Paris” or “what happened in Paris.”
different. Answers.com. The American Heritage? Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://www.answers.com/topic/different, accessed June 26, 2006.
