# Different from, to or than?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-from-to-or-than/809843>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 1, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-from-to-or-than/809843 "2018-03-01T18:13:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 15

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-from-to-or-than/809843/15 "2018-03-03T08:11:10Z")

</div>

I believe “different to” is mainly a British usage and used to see it in Thailand a lot. (Lots of Brits, Aussies etc there.)

Here is what the _[American Heritage Dictionary](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=different)_ says about it:

“ **Usage Note:** The phrases _different from_ and _different than_ are both common in British and American English. The British also use the construction _different to_. Since the 18th century, language critics have singled out _different than_ as incorrect when used before nouns and noun phrases, though it is well attested in the works of reputable writers. Traditionally, _from_ is used when the comparison is between two persons or things: \*My book is different from \* [not _than_] _yours_. Note that noun phrases, including ones that have clauses in them, also fall into this category: _The campus is different from the way it was the last time you were here._ The Usage Panel is divided on the acceptability of _different than_ with nouns and noun phrases, with a majority finding several of these constructions unacceptable. In our 2004 survey, 57 percent rejected the use of _different than_ with a gerund in the sentence _Caring for children with disabilities in a regular child-care setting is not new and, in many cases, is not particularly different than caring for other children._ Roughly the same percentage (55) disapproved of the construction with a noun phrase containing a clause in _The new kid felt that the coach’s treatment of him was different than that of the other players who were on the team last year._ Some 60 percent rejected the sentence _New York seemed very different than Rome, where they’d been on good terms._ There should be no complaint, however, when the object of comparison is expressed by a full clause: _The campus is different than it was twenty years ago._”

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-from-to-or-than/809843)._