Different means that two things are unlike in some way. Different from is the usual choice in everyday writing, especially before a noun phrase such as the old plan. Different than is common in American English, especially before a clause such as we expected. Different to is also used in British English. All three can express the same comparison. Merriam-Webster’s entry for different.
Different from is a reliable default
Use different from when what follows is a noun or a group of words that functions as a noun. It works in both American and British English.
- The café’s summer menu is different from its winter menu. The sentence compares two menus.
- These seedlings are different from the ones we planted in April. The whole phrase the ones we planted in April names the second set of seedlings.
Different than can lead straight into a clause
In The trail was different than I remembered, I remembered has its own subject and verb. That makes it a clause. To use from here, you can rephrase the comparison as The trail was different from how I remembered it. Both versions compare the trail as you found it with your memory of it.
American writers also use different than before noun phrases, as in The sequel feels different than the first film. Merriam-Webster’s usage guide.
Different to is a British English option
My timetable is different to yours is a familiar British English construction. Different from yours expresses the same comparison and is widely used in British English too. The Collins English Dictionary usage note.
Check what you’re comparing
In The café’s prices are different from the bakery, the first item is a set of prices and the second is a business. If you’re comparing prices, write The café’s prices are different from the bakery’s prices or different from the bakery’s. The possessive the bakery’s can stand for the bakery’s prices.
If a publication has a house style, follow its preference when you edit for it. For a publication that favors from, you could change The room looked different than we had imagined to The room looked different from what we had imagined. The edit follows that publication’s convention and keeps the same comparison.
Practice choosing from, than, or to
- Choose the usual form for a guide with readers in both the US and the UK. This year’s route is different ___ last year’s route.
- Find the subject and verb in the clause that follows than. The clay felt different than I expected.
- Revise the sentence so that it compares two opening times. The library’s opening time is different from the museum.
- A magazine’s house style calls for different from. Revise this sentence for that magazine. The rehearsal sounded different than we had imagined.
- Which variety of English commonly uses the form in this line of dialogue? “My schedule is different to yours.”
- Write one sentence with different than that compares how a coat looked in person with how you expected it to look.
Show answers and explanations
- From. Last year’s route is a noun phrase, and different from is a common choice in both American and British English.
- I is the subject and expected is the verb. The clause compares the clay’s actual feel with what the speaker expected.
- The library’s opening time is different from the museum’s opening time. You can shorten the ending to the museum’s because readers can supply opening time.
- The rehearsal sounded different from what we had imagined. The revised wording preserves the comparison with the group’s expectations and follows the magazine’s style.
- It’s a familiar form in British English. Yours stands for your schedule, so the speaker is comparing two schedules.
- In person, the coat looked different than I expected. Than introduces I expected, which supplies the other side of the comparison.
Related writing guides
- Find more explanations of easily confused forms. Confusing Words.
- Check wording and consistency on a final pass. The Art of Proofreading.
