My mother always taught me that speaking, and writing well was the sign of intelligence. It distresses me how many usually well-spoken people mix up the two simple words than and then when writing. I figured out a mnemonic I hope will help.
Than is a comparison word. For example, I might say "I like vanilla ice cream more than chocolate." Or, "My children are all taller than I am."
Then, on the other hand, is a sequence of events word. For example, I might say, "I'll save my files, then I'll turn off my computer." Or, "My husband went to the grocery, then he stopped at his friend's house."
Remember, THAN = COMPARISON. THEN = SEQUENCE of EVENTS.
JustPlainJo from Springfield, Ohio
Oh, you hit on one of my favorite peeves! You're (you are)
Your (your car, your tv, it's possessive)
I've seen Major Television networks screw up these words on messages to the viewers. I can't understand how they got past the 2nd grade! I don't consider myself an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not that stupid!
Once I saw this message by NBC: "YOUR WATCHING A PRERECORDED PROGRAM" (As the English subjects say: 'That crazes me' :) )
Yeah, whatever happened to taking pride in good communication skills? Many of my email buddies can't even spell "yeah" correctly. My screen-reader even picks up misspellings and typos, which I think is funny and sad at the same time. Funny that it's that good, sad that so many otherwise intelligent folks can't communicate. I could go on forever - and look for more grammar tips as I get good ones. Thanks for your input!
The "Your" and "You're" bothers me too. The other word that I see misspelled all the time is "definitely". I usually see it as "definately". One time on the door of a major car dealership where I lived was a sign that said "Recieved" instead of "Received".
Whew! Cajun, thanks for posting that link. I've been struggling with a way to simplify the apostrophe thing since Nancy asked.
I guess I can sum up one common goof - that is, THEY'RE/THEIR/THERE - in this one sentence: "THEY'RE (they are) having THEIR (possessive) dinner in THERE (location.)
Hope that makes at least this one confusing set of homonyms a little clearer!
btw, Jess, I'd enjoy being a ThriftyFun editor if only I had the time and energy!
