有一位读者问到下面一句中的 different than 是否正确：
(1)It's very, very different than what's happened.
关于 different 后应接 from， than 或 to 的问题，一百多年来，一直是有争议的。在英国历史上，本有不少大作家都曾用过 different from， different than 和 different to， 并未引起争议。但从18世纪下半叶起，有些英语学者就只赞同使用 different from， 而反对使用 different than 和 different to ；由于 different than 较为常见，所以对它尤为反对。在当代，有一种看法较为常见，似乎占了上风。这种看法认为上述三种说法都是合乎标准的英语，但三者在其来源用法及所用的地域上则有所不同。different from 为英美英语所通用，来自短语动词 differ （原义为 separate）from，可以与 know...from， tell...from 等相类比。 different from 之后常接名（代）词，实例如：
(2)My ideas are different from his.
(3)Emily is very different from her sister.
(4)The goods delivered are widely different from the sample.
(5)These two cakes are different from each other.
different than 在当代多用在美国英语中。关于它的来源，许多学者都说它是由与 other than 类比而来；有的学者还说 different 可被看作是一形容词比较级，因为它可被 much, no, any, little, far, a great deal 等所修饰，如：
(6)He isn't much different from the way he's looked all his life.
(7)Her ideas are no different from mine.
(8)We may ask, is he any happier? — Is he any different ?
既然 different 可被看作是一比较级，那么，它的后面可接 than 就是顺理成章的了。但在当代英语中， different than 常后接一从句，实例除上述句（1）外，还有如：
(9)Things aren't any different than they were yesterday.
(10)Please inform us if your address is different than it was in the past.
(11)His appearance was very different than I'd expected.
(12)The room was somehow different than it had been a moment before.
(13)They fell into a different way of speaking than they had ever before done.
different than 亦可后接一从句的省略结构，如上面句（13）即可缩略为：
(14)They fell into a different way of speaking than ever before.
再如：
(15)How different things appear in Washington than in London.
由于非限定动词短语亦可看作是一种从句，所以 different than 亦可后接一不定式短语，如：
(16)It was a very different thing to say a thing than to do it.
在上述含有 different than 的例证中，除句（1）外，皆不能用 from 直接替代 than， 这显然是由于 than 常可用作从属连词的缘故。那么，different than 可不可以后接名（代）词呢？答案是肯定的，实例如：
(17)This illustration is different than that.
(18)She seemed of quite a different class than the other passengers.
但有些人并不赞成，因为这样一来，连词 than 岂不成了介词!然而，实际上， than 是可以用作介词的，请看：
(19)He is taller than me. （than 在此显然是一介词，不是吗？）
至于 different to， 它主要用于英国,其用法与 different from一样，实例如：
(20)Mary and Jane are quite different to each other.
(21)His message is very little different to theirs.
(22)It is a different sort of life to what she's been accustomed to.
关于 different 后接 from， than 或 to 的问题，就谈这么多吧。有的读者如想知道关于这个问题的争议的情况,请看有关权威辞书，比如1989年美国出版的 Webster's Dictionary of English Usage。
