Master confusing words with ease
Scarcely than vs. Scarcely when
Scarcely than
/ˈskɛrsli ðæn/Examples:
He had scarcely arrived than he was already leaving.Scarcely had she entered the room than everyone noticed her.We had scarcely sat down than the bell rang for class.
Synonyms:
This word has no synonymsAntonyms:
This word has no antonymsScarcely when
/ˈskɛrsli wɛn/Examples:
She scarcely when started cooking, the phone rang.Scarcely when the meeting began, it was interrupted by a fire alarm.He had scarcely when settled down to sleep, the baby cried.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Scarcely than is often a mistaken construction and is grammatically incorrect. Think of than as being used in comparisons, not time or condition.
- Scarcely when is used to describe a situation immediately following an event, emphasizing the speed or sequence.
- Imagine when introducing a situation tied closely to time rather than comparison to underline its proper context.
- Remember that scarcely in both instances implies only just or barely, but its relationship to when vs. than changes meaning.
- Always pair scarcely with when for proper narrative sequences and reserve than for making comparisons.
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