The English language can be vague; it has infinite precepts and several exceptions. Therefore, the terms are organized. And it takes ages and time to analyze and acquire their use peculiarly and utterly. Even then, people confuse and misplace them. Often they are mistakenly used interchangeably, but that doesn’t fit right in the vocabulary.
Such as the words Difference and Different are totally distinct but are used interchangeably. It might sound like a tongue twister, but the two words compared in the sentence have actually quite divergent uses. The two are used in a sentence when it is required to clarify the contrasting qualities in the form of a comparison of the two or more concepts or ideologies.
Difference vs Different
The main difference Between Difference and Different is their part of speech. Both are emerged from the word Differ. But the ‘Difference’ is used as a noun in the sentence. Whereas ‘Different’ is used as an adjective form. The former helps to find out the anomalies of two or more specific subjects or objects. Conversely, the latter helps to find out the individuality of two or more subjects or objects.
Comparison Table Between Difference and Different
| Parameters of Comparison | Difference | Different |
| Defining both the Terms | The word Difference is used as a noun that is placed either before or after the comparative terms. | The word Different is used as an adjective that is placed in between the two comparative terms. |
| Source of Emergence | It is emerged from the verb Differ. | It is also emerged from the verb Differ. |
| Function in the Sentence | It is the relation or state of being distinct. | It is the quality or characteristic of being distinct. |
| Latin Derivation | Its Latin derivation is ‘Differentia,’ which means Diversity in English. | Its Latin derivation is ‘Differentem,’ also shortly, ‘Differe.’ It means Dissimilarity in English. |
| Part of Speech | It is a Noun of Differ. | It is an Adjective of Differ. |
| Noun | The word Difference is itself is a noun. | The word Different needs a noun in a sentence to form. |
| Usage | It is used to describe the areas of variances of two different subjects or objects. | It is used to describe the distinctive aspect of the subject or object. |
| Suffixes | Its suffix is ‘-ence.’ | Its suffix is ‘-ent.’ |
| Formation of the Sentences | “Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object have + Difference”Or“Difference between Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object.” | “Subject is + Different from + Subject/ Object.” |
| Example with Sentence | I can see a clear difference in his behavior than usual. | Clearly, his behavior is different than usual. |
| Positioning in the Sentence | It is placed in the sentence before the starting of the two comparative sentences/ terms/ words or after their ending. | It is placed in between the two comparative sentences/ words/ terms. |
What is Difference?
The word Difference is used as a noun that is placed either before or after the comparative terms. Its suffix is ‘-ence.’ It helps illustrate the fields of variations among the two different subjects or objects.
The term has its evolution from the verb Differ. The Latin derivation is from the word Differentia, which means Diversity in English. Its part of speech is a noun that means it is used as a name in the sentence.
Be it any two comparative sentences/ terms/ words; according to the formation, it is positioned in the sentence before the starting or after the ending of it. The sentences are formed such as ‘Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object have + Difference’ or ‘Difference between Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object.’
Examples:
- I can see a clear difference in his current behavior than usual. (Here, the Difference is used before in the sentence, the current behavior is subject1, and the usual is subject2).
- Tea and Coffee have a difference. (Here, Tea is an object1, Coffee is an object2, and the Difference is used after them).
- Difference between Boomers and Zoomers. (Similarly here, Difference is used before the terms).
What is Different?
The word Different is used as an adjective that is placed in between the two comparative terms. It is another emerged word from the verb Differ. It is derived from the Latin term Differentem that is shortly Differe that means Dissimilarity in English.
Different is an adjective that is used in a sentence to convey the quality. It describes the uniqueness that appears to be in the two concepts. It ends with its suffix ‘-ent.’
‘Subject is + Different from + Subject/ Object’ is the formation of the sentence. The adjective is placed in between the two comparative sentences/ words/ terms.
Examples:
- Clearly, his behavior is different than usual. (Here, a Different is used between both the terms).
- This dress is different than the others. (Similarly here, a Different is used between both the objects).
- Government is different than Politics. (Again, a Different is used between both the concepts).
Main Differences Between Difference and Different
- The word Difference is used as a noun in a sentence. Whereas the Different is an adjective.
- Both words are the emergence of the verb Differ. But former is derived from the Latin word Differencia and the latter from the Latin word Differe (also Differentem).
- The first one functions as the relation or state of being distinct. On the other hand, the second one is the quality or characteristic of being definite.
- The Difference helps to specify the areas of variances of two different subjects or objects. On the contrary, the Different helps with describing the distinctive of the subject or object.
- The suffix of the first word is ‘-ence.’ Conversely, the second has ‘-ent.’
- With difference the sentences are formed like this: ‘Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object have + Difference’ or ‘Difference between Subject/ Object and + Subject/ Object.’ But with different, they are formed like ‘Subject is + Different from + Subject/ Object.’
- The previous is positioned at the beginning or the ending of the two comparative terminologies; while the succeeding is between the two comparative ideologies.
Conclusion
The words Difference and Different have the same implication of being divergent, and their appearance from the verb Differ. But they cannot be classified as in similar means as they are just relevant phrases.
Usage of an unfitted word will make the sentence semantically false. That is why the English language is complex to understand. But with proper learning and experiences, a person can surely enhance the ability to communicate in English.
References
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-6059-1_9
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ZMQDAAAAQAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=difference+and+different+grammar&ots=17XMR63PvK&sig=sp8EfYQXJYLn7sG7fLLutO7pq7E
This Article has been written by: Supriya Kandekar