Grammar

then / than

One is time. One is comparison. They are not interchangeable.

  • This is better then that.

    This is better than that.

    A comparison. Than has an a, like compare.

  • We shipped, than we celebrated.

    We shipped, then we celebrated.

    A sequence in time. Then has an e, like time.

The mnemonic

Than = comparison. Then = time.

One letter apart, completely different jobs, and no overlap between them. If you’re weighing two things against each other, it’s than. If you’re describing what happened next, it’s then.

Also then if you’re doing an if/else: if that fails, then try this. Still sequence, still then.

Now go compare something properly.