different from, different than, different to

Different from is standard usage before a noun or pronoun in Canada, Britain and the United States. (Be cautious about using different than in this kind of structure, since the use of than after different is often seen as an error.)

• A winter morning in Yellowknife is very different from a winter morning in Vancouver.
• My answer for this question was entirely different from yours.

Different than is common in North American English but rare in British English. Different than is best used to introduce clauses or phrases that would be awkward or repetitious with from.

• Having lived abroad for 40 years, Boris visited his home town and found it to be quite different than he remembered (or different from what he remembered).
• Under this repressive regime, career options were very different for whites than for minorities (not very different for whites from what they were for minorities).

Different to is common in British English but rare in North American English.

• Elspeth pointed out that the windows in her flat were quite different to the ones in mine.

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