Less THAN Perfect

I do not claim to know everything about the English language. With all the rules of proper grammar, it is easy to get confused. I also realize that everyone, including me, makes mistakes. With that said, I will share with you something I have become increasingly aware of and that's the misuse of the words than and then. I have seen the two words confused on blogs, YouTube, song lyrics and even my post yesterday by Erma Bombeck. In one of her paragraphs, Erma says, "There is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect." I didn't change then to than, because I was quoting Erma, but I saw the error right away. I also saw the irony in her less than perfect sentence. Then I began thinking, if Erma Bombeck is capable of confusing the words then and than, do I really know how to use them properly? I decided to search Google and found a few websites that have worksheets and quizzes. I've included one of the links, if you would like to test your knowledge of the then and than rule.

Then Vs Than Worksheets Worksheets

In Erma's defense, because it's an uplifting piece of writing and has been reposted many times over the years, the mistake most likely was made by somebody other than her.