As far as I know, then is used in a conjunction and in time-related sentences; than in all other cases. I believe that these are correct:

  • Because I'm older than she, I should be the first chosen;
  • I loved her and then she died;
  • If it rains [then] it pours;
  • I've had more then enough;
  • Would you rather be a mouse then a rat?
  • Who, other than you, likes the color red?

Or not? Can someone help me out clearing the mud? I think I'm 90% there, but I like to finally understand it completely. If you have other uses of then/than that I missed, please add yours.


Solution 1:

Because I'm older than she, I should be the first chosen.

I loved her and then she died.

If it rains, then it pours.

I've had more than enough.

Would you rather be a mouse than a rat?

Who, other than you, likes the color red?

When there is a comparison, you use than; then means:

  1. at that time; at the time in question: I was living in Cairo then | [after preposition] Phoebe by then was exhausted | [as adjective] a hotel where the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was staying.
  2. after that; next; afterward: she won the first and then the second game.
    • also; in addition: I'm paid a generous salary, and then there's the money I've made at the races.
  3. in that case; therefore: if you do what I tell you, then there's nothing to worry about | well, that's okay then.
    • used at the end of a sentence to emphasize an inference being drawn: so you're still here, then.
    • used to finish off a conversation: see you in an hour, then.

(See also the definition of then given in the Oxford Living Dictionaries.)

Solution 2:

Two corrections:

  • I’ve had more than enough.
  • Would you rather be a mouse than a rat?

Both “rather . . . than . . .” and “more than” are fixed expressions.