VOA名师答疑2024--Different 'From' or 'Than'?

Different 'From' or 'Than'?

　　Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question that was posted on our YouTube channel.

　　Question

　　Question to English teachers,

　　What is correct to say: different from or different than?

　　In the example below, which is correct?

　　a) Cost of life has a different meaning than cost of living.

　　b) Cost of life has a different meaning from cost of living.

　　Answer

　　Thank you for this question. It is a good one!

　　Some people say that "different than" is incorrect. Your grammar textbook may say you should never use "different than."

　　However, in American English, we use both "different from" and "different than" to mean "not the same".

　　We use them before a noun¹ phrase. For example,

　　It's different from other shows.

　　State laws may be different from national laws.

　　Their ideas are a little different than ours.

　　We can also use them before a clause². For example.

　　How are these different from the ones we had before?

　　That is not any different than what I said.

　　Dating is different than it was 10 years ago.

　　Both phrases have the same meaning, but their usage³ is different.

　　We use "different than" mostly in spoken English. It is more informal, and it is almost always used before a clause.

　　We use "different from" mostly in written English, and we use it far more often than "different than."

　　So, either sentence is okay in spoken American English, but "different from" is the better choice because it comes before a noun phrase.

　　We hope this explanation has helped you.

　　Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at [email protected].

　　And that's Ask a Teacher.

　　I'm Gena Bennett.

　　Gena Bennett wrote this lesson for VOA Learning⁴ English.

1 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

2 clause   

n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句

参考例句：

• The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
• What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款？

3 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。