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Pastimes : SI Grammar and Spelling Lab -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rambi who wrote (2926)	6/11/1999 9:14:00 PM
From: Carolyn	Respond to of 4711

I think that is funny! It must be my sense of humor.

To: Rambi who wrote (2926)	6/11/1999 10:35:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4711

A few more words on the "different than/different from" puzzler. I say a "few more words," because there can never be a last word when we are dealing with an evolving language. And before I go on, a question for penni. Why do you say: Now I will admit that when heer I am completely intimidated and cowed and must constantly remind myself that I'm an ok person even though I have the wrong edition of Fowler. Completely? Hmm, penni, I don't quite believe that...:-) And what's the "wrong edition" of Fowler, anyway? Each edition has its strengths and weaknesses. The weakness of your Third Edition is that it does not have much Fowler left in it. Its strength, however, is that it is more up-to-date, more reflective of current usage. Now, Chris has the First Edition, and I have the Second, so between the three of us we should be able to put together a good picture of how usage has been evolving. :-) Now, on the different from/different than question, the Second Edition straddles the fence. On the one hand, we read (emphasis mine): The use of than after non-comparatives, on the analogy of "other than", after different, diverse, opposite, etc., is "now mostly avoided" (OED). (Aside: Please note that, in conformity with British usage, the Second Edition places periods and commas outside the quotation marks in the above passage. Christopher? Are you paying attention?) Back to the issue at hand: I gather, from what Christopher has written, that the OED has modified its position since the Second Edition of Fowler's cited it (in 1965). In any event, the 2nd edition of Fowler's is not dogmatic about never using "than" after "different": But "different than" is sometimes preferred by good writers* to the cumbersome "different from that which", as in: "He is using the word in quite a different sense than he did yesterday."* That exemplary sentence beautifully illustrates what happens when we deal with language: the words, and the sense, DO keep changing from day to day. I have relied on Fowler alone because none of the other sources I consulted dealt with the different from/different than question in any depth. Perhaps the rival (complementary?) Dictionary of Modern American Usage does, although I confess I do not happen to own it. Does anyone else? If so, can you check it out? As for the gentleman who used "than" incorrectly in his joke about the priest and the callgirl....well, it is one funny story, and should help us keep a sense of proportion. <g> Joan