Ward, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > From: "Gary F. York" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >> Personally, I get a little exercised when I encounter an indiscriminate use >> of 'then' for 'than'. This is >> particularly intolerable when done by one who writes (or wants to write) >> for a living. Whatever is the world >> coming to, eh? The word 'then' clearly denotes a sequence: this happened >> then that happened; while the >> word 'than' indicates a contrast: Joe is taller than Bob. What kind of >> idiot finds this difficult to comprehend? >> But if someone says or writes, "Joe is taller then Bob," it does me little >> good to pretend I don't know what is >> meant. >> > > Actually, "Joe is taller then Bob" happens often in middle/high school when > two kids the same age have their pituitaries working on different clocks. > The cycle can happen several times, though not for me, I reached my full > height in 9th grade, Mom's genes overrode Dad's -- Dad joined the army at 17 > at 5'10", was medically retired at 21 after two years in hospital at 6'4", > peaked a few years later at 6'5", but Mom [a WAC nurses aide he met and got > pregnant (she got a BCD) at Letterman] never quite reached 5'0" despite her > claims of being 5".5". In the morning I'm almost 5'10", but I'm down to > 5''9" by day's end (may be less now, haven't checked in years and I'm getting > older). > -- > Ward Griffiths [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > You know, I had to reread that paragraph a few times before I actually grasped it. Wow. There actually is an instance where the construction "Joe is taller then Bob," could be grammatically correct. With appropriate punctuation, of course.
As to your height; console yourself: at your worst, Ward is taller than Gary. :) G.
