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Post by Tone on Jul 18, 2008 20:29:40 GMT
I recall seeing a (constructed) sentence wherein "different than" was the only rational choice. (The "from" or "to" just wouldn't fit the intended meaning.)
Does anyone know it? (Or wishes to try to construct one?)
Tone
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Post by goofy on Jul 18, 2008 20:50:45 GMT
The texture of fried jellyfish was different than I’d expected. *The texture of fried jellyfish was different from I’d expected. The texture of fried jellyfish was different than/from what I’d expected.
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Post by Geoff on Jul 19, 2008 2:00:32 GMT
Does anyone know it? (Or wishes to try to construct one?) What about: Item A is more different than Item B from Item C. ? Just a reminder, the subject I raised is not the construct different from/to, but differ from/to.
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Post by Tone on Jul 19, 2008 20:33:11 GMT
>Item A is more different than Item B from Item C.<
Nice. (Anybody want to argue against it?)
But is the "more" the thing that allows it by "changing the rules"?
Tone
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Post by Twoddle on Jul 19, 2008 21:06:28 GMT
>Item A is more different than Item B from Item C.<Nice. (Anybody want to argue against it?) But is the "more" the thing that allows it by "changing the rules"? Tone Try this explanation. In "different from", "different to" and (although I'd never use it) "different than" in their "normal" usages, "from, "to" and "than" are prepositions. In Geoff's example, "than" is being used as a conjunction, not a preposition, and is thus OK there.
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Post by Dave M on Jul 24, 2008 15:48:40 GMT
> different than ... has never, to my knowledge, been considered legitimate here < Well, Vv, your view differs from mine. Twod's view also differs - but yours is less different than his.
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Post by Geoff on Jul 24, 2008 22:20:56 GMT
> different than ... has never, to my knowledge, been considered legitimate here < Well, Vv, your view differs from mine. Twod's view also differs - but yours is less different than his. Dave, I've already given that example; but I do think it is a different context from Twod's view is different than Vv's, which is really what the argument is about.
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Post by Paul Doherty on Jul 24, 2008 22:42:17 GMT
What about Goofy's I have a very different definition of "understand" than you do.
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Post by Twoddle on Jul 24, 2008 22:54:29 GMT
What about Goofy's I have a very different definition of "understand" than you do. The sentence makes sense, but seems rather awkward to me. I may have written, "I have a very different definition of 'understand' from yours". Or I may not. For some reason "to" sounds better than "from" there.
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Post by Paul Doherty on Jul 25, 2008 1:44:15 GMT
For some reason "to" sounds better than "from" there. Because it is better. Throw off the shackles of these non-rules, Twod.
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