Then or Than?
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Hi there. My name is Emma, and today we have a very good video... A very great video, actually,
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on the difference between "then" and "than". So this is a very, very common mistake a lot
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of people, both native speakers and ESL students make.
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So before I begin, I'd just like to thank Milly45 for recommending this video idea,
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as well as my sister who is constantly making this mistake. She makes this mistake in business
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emails, she makes it on all sorts of very important documents, and she's constantly
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told by her boss or other people: "This is a bad mistake to make." So this is also for
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my sister. I hope she watches this, because maybe she won't make these mistakes in the
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future. Okay, so let's get started.
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First of all, I'd like to talk about the pronunciation, the difference in pronunciation between "then"
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and "than". Okay? So, "then" sounds like "Ken". You know Ken and Barbie? Ken, it rhymes with
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Ken, "then". "Than" is more like "can". So, "can/than", "Ken/then". So there is a slight
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difference in pronunciation; although oftentimes when people speak fast, they might actually...
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You may just hear "then" for both cases. When somebody actually says: "than", you may hear
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"then". So, pronunciation-wise, these two are often pronounced as "then".
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Okay, so now let's look at some questions, and I want you to see where you currently
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are in terms of "then" versus "than". How confident are you that you know the difference
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between these words?
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So our first example: "She is bigger then me." Do you think this sentence is correct?
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Did we use "then" correctly?
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If you said no, you are correct. This should be "than".
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Number two: "I will come than." What do you guys think?
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This is also incorrect.
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"I ate dinner, and then I cleaned up." What do you think?
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This one, correct. And I'll go over the explanations in a second, but bear with me.
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"I have more money than my sister." Okay? Do you think this is correct?
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Yes. Although I don't have more money than my sister, so that part's incorrect.
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And number five: "Back than, I took the bus." What do you think?
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This one's also incorrect.
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So, if you have made many mistakes or there are some of these that have confused you,
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this video will really help to help you to learn the difference between "then" and "than".
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Okay, so we're starting with "then", with an "e". Okay? So, what can I tell you about
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"then"? First of all, "then" usually comes at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
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Not always, but often. Okay? So that's one hint. "Than" doesn't come at the beginning
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of a sentence. Another thing I can tell you is that "then" has to do with sequence. So,
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sequence means the order; first, then, finally. You often learn that when you learn English
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in beginner classes. First I did this, then I did that, next I did this, finally I did
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that. Okay? So that's sequence. "Then" also has to do with time. Okay? So, I will be there
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then. I'm going to the store, then I will go visit your house. I will be there at 5:00.
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I will be there then. So it has to do with time.
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So let's look at some example sentences. "First I rented the movies. Then I watched all three
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LOTRs back to back." So that's a very, very long time to spend on Lord of the Rings, and
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I did do that. So notice the sequence, though. We have first, first action; next action,
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"then". "Then I watched all three LOTRs back to back." Okay.
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Sentence number two: "We didn't have the Internet back then." Okay? So this is also common to
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