Am I the only person who prefers "different from" to "different than" when no comparaison is being made?
I would say "this one is different FROM that one," not "different THAN."
Just as I would say "he is taller THAN me," not "he is taller FROM me."
But I seem to b the only hold out - usage of "different than" instead of "different from" seems just about universal.
I hear both. I use both. I don't have a conscious system to determine which I use when, but I will try to take note in the near future. Perhaps it is needless to say that neither bothers me.
John McIntyre recently listed different from/than on his list of "Distinctions that are dissolving," along with compare with/to. I've long had trouble seeing those distinctions.
In accordance with OED, different can either be followed by from or than, and the latter use is found in "Fuller, Addison, Steele, De Foe, Richardson, Goldsmith, Miss Burney, Coleridge, Southey, De Quincey, Carlyle, Thackeray, Newman, Trench, and Dasent,..." though in English learning materials, I found that different than is barely used.:smile: