Post by CDBPost by Spains Harden1) The opposite than what was expected happened. 2) The opposite than
was expected happened.
3) He did the opposite than what he had promised. 4) He did the
opposite than he had promised.
Which of the above are grammatical? Which are idiomatic?
They are all idiomatic. People have been quibbling about "different
than" since Shakespeare made it legitimate, and I would put "opposite
than" "in equal case" if I may quote Sheridan.
One important difference is that "different" is an adjective and "the
opposite" is a noun.
Some people use "than" with "different" as a conjunction when its
complement is a clause: "it was different than he had promised".
That seems to me a sensible and useful distinction.
Post by Spains HardenIf people find them ungrammatical, they are the audience you need
convince.
"Different than/from/to" is a sempiternal issue in English usage, and one
that is viewed differently from the opposite sides of the pond. Wilson
Follett wrote that:
"Prevailing British usage is divided between 'different to' and
'different from'. In the United States, 'different to' is almost
nonexistent, and sounds odd to Americans when they encounter it in
British novels. In both England and the United States there is an
increasing tendency to follow 'different' and 'differently' with
'than'. When challenged, 'than' is sometimes defended with the argument
that 'other' and 'otherwise'--logically equivalent to 'different' and
'differently'--are idiomatically followed by 'than'. Sometimes the
argument is rather that 'from' after 'different' leads to wordiness.
Both arguments have merit. But the first does not dispose of the
educated American's strong feeling that 'different from' is idiomatic
and hence inviolable; and the second does not dispose of the writer's
implicit obligation to find alternative ways of expressing thoughts that
work out awkwardly in the forms that first occur to him."
The full discussion (in his _Modern American usage_ is rewarding reading.
In many cases, simply substituting 'other' or 'otherwise" suffices.
Incidentally, uses by Shakespeare, or any other eminent writer of the
past, do not in themselves control modern English forms.
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker