Saturday, March 17, 2007

Different from vs Different than



Different from means not the same.

e.g. Sara's taste is different from mine.


Different thanIn US English, than is an alternative to from before a clause.


e.g. Sara's appearance was very different than I'd expected.


NOTE : On GMAT different than is always wrong when comparing two nouns. 

Different than is only correct when a sentence compares a noun and a clause.


On GMAT sentence correction if you come across a question comparing two nouns and a choice with the phrase different than eliminate that choice.
Since the 18th century, language critics have singled out different than as incorrect.