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# than

«than» in Mova's school dictionary: **used when you compare two things: «taller than», «more than»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

conjunction, preposition

### meaning for a pupil

1) Than is used when you compare two things: «taller than», «more than». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m1)

2) Than also comes after «rather» and «other»: «rather walk than ride», «anyone other than Ben». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m2)

3) «No sooner … than» means just after: «No sooner had we left than it rained». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m3)

4) (casual) People often say «than me» rather than «than I»: «He's taller than me». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m4)

5) (formal) Exams say «in excess of», «exceeding», «less than or equal to», «fewer than» and «other than» in long comparisons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m5)

6) Than can also mean only, as in "no more than five pence". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

in «more … than», «fewer … than», «older … than», «less than», «bigger than»; in maths it marks a comparison; the signs > and < are read «greater than» and «less than»; in casual talk «more than ever», «better than nothing», «way more than», «heaps more than»; in rough talk «you're dumber than a box of rocks» (a put-down); in the exam voice «exceeds by», «is in excess of», «is not less than» (≥), «is not more than» (≤)

### examples

- How many more books does Tom have than Ben? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x1)
- Max has 2 fewer books than Lily. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x2)
- Anna is 3 years older than Tom. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x3)
- 9 is greater than 6, so we write 9 > 6. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x4)
- A whale is bigger than an elephant. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x5)
- I would rather read than watch TV. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x6)
- Nobody other than Mia knew the answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x7)
- He's got way more cards than me, like 10 more. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x8)
- Better than nothing, I s'pose. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x9)
- You're slower than a snail, hurry up! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x10)
- By how many does 23 exceed 15? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x11)
- The number of pupils shall be not less than 20 and not more than 30. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/#x12)

### note

«than» marks a comparison. «How many more A than B» asks for a difference: subtract, even though it says «more». «A has D more than B» gives A = B + D. «A exceeds B by D» is the same as A = B + D. «not less than 20» means 20 or more. Trap: do not mix up «than» (comparing) and «then» (next, after that).

### In the corpora

- [Employers often glance at a CV for less than a minute, so grown-ups fuss over every word.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/3-finding-a-job-and-getting-on/7/)
- [Borrowing always has a price called interest, so the total paid back is more than the price tag.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/2/)
- [Debt becomes a problem when the repayments are more than the family can afford.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/3/)
- [Saving up is slower than borrowing but cheaper, because no interest is paid.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/20/)
- [Big building jobs often take longer and cost more than planned.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/11-when-things-break/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «than» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/than/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.