Because you woke up this morning wanting to answer a poll about prepositions

[snick_backup]

[Poll #1552581]

Comments

[next_to_normal]

Er, neither? I'd say "different from." But definitely "different than" over "different to."

ETA: Here's an explanation that says "different than" is only correct when comparing a noun and a clause. Therefore, it'd be incorrect to use it in your example. There's also this breakdown of usage which indicates that "different to" is more common in the UK but virtually unheard of in the US.

[angearia.livejournal.com]

What she said.

[owenthurman.livejournal.com]

That. And as a speaker of proper English rather than some UK patois, "different to" sounds quite foreign to my ears.

[snickfic]

Yay, explanation! I think I've defaulted to using "different than" for everything, but I'm not sure when I switch over from "different from."

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

It's English-English: we would say 'different to' or 'different from'. Your *vile colonial* 'than' is making some headway over here but not yet standard usage in formal writing.

Weird how prepositions wander, isn't it?

[snickfic]

It is. I've been told by non-native speakers that they find prepositions the single hardest thing about English. Which, wow. Considering how insane the spelling is...

[rahirah]

Isn't 'different to' a UK thing?

[snickfic]

It seems so. eowyn_315 linked me to a very handy breakdown of usage. Apparently in speaking UK folks use "different to" 30% of the time.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Either "different than" or "different from," depending.

But "different to" makes me want to stick super-sharp pencils in my ears. I imagine that it might be a British thing, and usually I prefer British uses, but this is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

Definitely a British usage, and pretty much exactly how I feel about 'different than'. *shudder*

[deird1]

*shudders along with you*

[snickfic]

I think I'm amused that "different than" annoys the British folks as much as "different to" annoys me. Hurrah for equal-opportunity annoyance. *g*

[bobthemole.livejournal.com]

I contort my sentence structure so I can use "different from." That always sounded like the safest option to me.

[snickfic]

Somewhere along the way I lost the knack of "different from" and started using "different than" for everything. And I never even noticed until people started pointing out I'd left "different from" off the poll!

[cafedemonde.livejournal.com]

I think you need a "different from" option which is what I would use.

[snickfic]

Sigh. Something always falls through the cracks on these polls! But thanks for the data point. :)

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Different from!!! *cough* okay, now that's out of my system... In lieu of different from, it has now become more acceptable (in this country) to say different than. Different than has always been acceptable if it avoids an awkward construction. "Your plans are different than they were last week." This avoids the more awkward "different from what they were last week".

I don't know about regional, but it is apparently an American/British divide.

[snickfic]

Somehow I picked up "different than" and started using it for everything. Now I'm going to have to go through old writing and see when it changed.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

As you no doubt have noticed by now, most of us wouldn't use anything but "different from" 90% of the time. But you will hear people say "different than" way more often than they should. There is quite a difference between some American preposition (and some articles) use and British use.

[deird1]

...there was no option for "Different than? What on earth? It's different to."


I believe it's a regional thing. Personally, I'd say that "different to" and "different from" are both fine - and "different than" sounds insane.

[deird1]

*checks language book*


Fowler's Modern English says:
different from - is from 1590
different to - 1526
different than - 1644

All three are acceptable English usage. But "than" is more likely to be American, "from" is more likely to be British, and the rest of the world is most likely to use "to".

[quinara]

'Different to' is something I say/write all the time, but something (British) people reading my work pick up on with the proverbial red pen, because we're taught 'different from'. I've never even heard 'different than'(WTF? :P).

[seapealsh.livejournal.com]

Isn't it "different from"? "Different than" works too. I'm too tired to think.