August,
Your usage examples of then, than are good in my opinion. I think of then in an adverbial sense, expressing time, as in:
Then, we went home. But it's also used as filler in many instances: "Well, then, let's get started."
Than, on the other hand, is a comparative word, as I see it, and is used in a conjunctional way as well. For example:
He is better than I. (With "am" understood at the end.) Parenthetically, and not to digress too much, but we often also hear "Better than me" where "than" is used more like a preposition and therefore takes an objective case pronoun. This isn't really correct, but it is common in the spoken language. I posted something about this about a month ago:
Message 3492851
The French have no problem with this and always say "meilleur que moi" not "que je". They call that the disjunctive usage, and I submit that it will be correct in English one day.
Last of all, I will offer a minor complaint about your usage of "alright".
You said, "If those are correct usage, then I'm alright.
I know it's in the dictionary and even in Fowler's that way as an alternative use, but the purist will insist on two words: "all right".
Best,
Jack |
