Different to vs. different from/than - English Spanish Translator Org: Translation Forum � Translators Forums

elmeromero · 10-27-2006, 04:50 PM

Can any Brit or Anglophile explain why you people say "different to" and not "different from" or "different than"? Do you never say either or the latter, or is "different to" only for some cases? Cheers!

Permian · 11-11-2006, 07:17 PM

Or possibly I should say that I personally do not use it, though you will no doubt have heard it used by many others in the British media. My own view is that the correct form is 'different from'. Consider the sentence ' This item differs from that item' which could also be written as 'This item is different from that item'. I don't believe that anyone would say 'This item differs to that item', and consequently I don't believe that 'to' is correct in the second form either. However, English has changed over the years, and many changes have resulted from incorrect usage, which has subsequently become accepted simply because it is so common, and this would appear to be the case with 'different to'. The infrequency of use of this form in the USA is probably explained by divergence of the two languages over 3 or 4 centuries.

In-House · 01-29-2007, 09:42 AM

Hi Meromero!
According to Collins Cobuild English Guide to Prepositions, all three prepositions (to, than and from) are correct.
As to the question on usage in the UK, can't help you with that!
See U!

DavidJ · 03-08-2007, 09:55 AM

In conversation we use all three. There is no difference...

Hebe · 03-09-2007, 07:15 AM

This is a valuable thread indeed. I always used �different from� and until now, I wasn�t sure if the other prepositions were valid. Would they be properly used in formal written English, too?.

10-27-2006, 04:50 PM	#1
elmeromero Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 181 Rep Power: 110	Different to vs. different from/than Can any Brit or Anglophile explain why you people say "different to" and not "different from" or "different than"? Do you never say either or the latter, or is "different to" only for some cases? Cheers!

11-11-2006, 07:17 PM	#2
Permian New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	'We people' do not use 'different to' Or possibly I should say that I personally do not use it, though you will no doubt have heard it used by many others in the British media. My own view is that the correct form is 'different from'. Consider the sentence ' This item differs from that item' which could also be written as 'This item is different from that item'. I don't believe that anyone would say 'This item differs to that item', and consequently I don't believe that 'to' is correct in the second form either. However, English has changed over the years, and many changes have resulted from incorrect usage, which has subsequently become accepted simply because it is so common, and this would appear to be the case with 'different to'. The infrequency of use of this form in the USA is probably explained by divergence of the two languages over 3 or 4 centuries.

03-09-2007, 07:15 AM	#5
Hebe Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Caracas- Venezuela Posts: 815 Rep Power: 1331	This is a valuable thread indeed. I always used �different from� and until now, I wasn�t sure if the other prepositions were valid. Would they be properly used in formal written English, too?. __________________ Hebe ♥ ♫ "*To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning". Henry David Thrreau"*

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01-29-2007, 09:42 AM	#3
In-House Administrator Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 164 Rep Power: 100	Hi Meromero! According to Collins Cobuild English Guide to Prepositions, all three prepositions (to, than and from) are correct. As to the question on usage in the UK, can't help you with that! See U!

03-08-2007, 09:55 AM	#4
DavidJ Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 26	In conversation we use all three. There is no difference...

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