| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| different, separate (adjs.) |
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| Different means “not alike in some or all characteristics; dissimilar, distinctive.” It appears in American English as a predicate adjective especially with from and than (see DIFFERENT FROM), but it also occurs frequently without a following preposition or subordinating conjunction: She has a different hairdo today (meaning “it is different from her former hairdo”); I always have chocolate; today I want something different (meaning “I want a flavor other than chocolate”). It also occurs at Conversational levels and in Informal writing in sentences such as I don’t know what it is about her; she’s just different (meaning, “she’s unlike anyone I’ve encountered before”). These are all Standard. Some will object, however, to the use of different to mean “distinct,” as in I worked in three different restaurants (meaning “in three restaurants, each in a distinct location, but not necessarily different from each other unless context insists on it”). They argue that different carries no semantic load here and merely contributes to wordiness. At worst it’s a Standard cliché, but limit it to Casual or other Conversational use. The adjective separate is similarly used: We saw them on three separate [that is, distinct, specific, or particular] occasions. In this use it should be limited much as different should be. See also SEPARATE; VARIOUS. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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