Good morning! I’ve had several requests to cover than and then. Grammar Girl has provided the briefest of articles on that exact topic, so here you go!
From Daily Writing Tips (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/then-versus-than.aspx):
Do you confuse "then" and "than"? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. I get this question all the time.
"Then" has an element of time. For example, it can mean "next" or "at that time."
o We ate and then we went to the movies.
o Movies were a lot cheaper back then.
"Than" conveys a comparison.
o DVDs are more expensive than videocassettes.
o Aardvark is taller than Squiggly.
Quick and Dirty Tip: Both "than" and "comparison" have the letter "a" in them, and "then" and "time" both have the letter "e."
And just for fun:
Kara Church
Senior Technical Editor
[…] https://episystechpubs.com/2012/11/15/editors-corner-then-and-than/ […]
By: Editor’s Corner: Eleventh Day of English | Editor's Corner on December 30, 2014
at 7:11 am