When It Happened

There are so many words in our language that tend to get garbled and confused over time. (Yes, I know. Word are inanimate and aren't sentient. They don't think, therefore, they don't get confused. Humans get confused!) Oh well. There are a lot of words that get used but not in the right place.

"Then" is one such word. Poor little thing. It's trying to indicate a particular point in time. It happened "then" and not "now." It will happen "then" (meaning, at that point in time) and not any sooner.

It's related to a point in time. It's sort of related to "when" as in the answer to the question, "When will it happen?"

Response: "At 3 PM and not any sooner. Then we will have a good time."

You see the relationship? "W" simply took off his wrapper and then stood tall to show off his broad shouldered "T".

Why in the world am I making such a big deal about this beleaguered word? Because in some places it gets confused with a word that indicates comparison - "than."

For the time being, just remember that "then" relates to a time.

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