There's "Then" and Then, There's "Than"

A big pet peeve.... the misuse of "then" and "than". I notice it everywhere! Even the most seasoned bloggers, who blog for $$$, can't distinguish. My sympathies go out to the home-schooled student whose Parent-Turned-Teacher makes the mistake... what kind of English are they teaching their kid? The worst is when I hear a certified, college educated English teacher get it wrong. I mean what's so hard to understand??

"Use than as a word indicating comparison. When you are talking about a noun (thing, person, place or concept) being more, less, better, cooler, dumber, etc. in relation to another noun, the word than is necessary."

"Use then as a word indicating time. When you want to tell about a sequence of events or are giving instructions in a step-by-step order, the word then is necessary."

Ok, enough of this rant. Don't get me started on "their", "they're" and "there"!