Usually to talk about 2 or more things, we use old or older – say the pot is older than you think it is – but when we want to compare the age of two persons, we have to use elder – for example, my father is elder to my father-in-law. With this input in mind, let us explore more about these 2 words.
Elder
When we have to compare the seniority of two people with respect to age, we use elder. For example, members of family, teachers of a school, etc…
The word elder has its roots from the old English ieldra, of German origin eld. Elder is an adjective as well as noun with the plural being elders.
Style:MLAChicagoAPA "Older vs. Elder." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/older_vs._elder>.
Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!
It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style.
After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.
Note – elder is different from elderly, which again is an adjective (and not an adverb, as you and me might think). Elderly refers to people who are above a certain age i.e. in their mid-fifties or more.
Example
The point is, when you use elder, you could be just 6 years old, but you are still elder to a 3-year-old!
Often, we get confused whether to use elder than or elder to – which one is correct?
Always prefer to use ‘elder to’ – that is the correct usage. We can say ‘older than’ to refer to objects, but elder to – is used to refer to people.
Older
Old refers to anything that belongs to the past. The comparative form of old is older. For example,
Notice that we often use ‘than’ for comparison, however in the first sentence older is used in a different context. It is comparison with self.
Citation
Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:
The Web's Largest Resource for
Grammar & Spelling
A Member Of The STANDS4 Network
Free Writing Tool:
Instant
Grammar Checker
Quiz
Are you a grammar master?
»
Choose the sentence with proper capitalization:
Improve your writing now:
Download Grammar eBooks
Thank you
Have a discussion about this article with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In