HI703{"id":702,"date":"2021-08-20T11:02:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T11:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/?p=702"},"modified":"2026-05-27T06:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:30:42","slug":"elder-vs-older-how-are-they-different","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/elder-vs-older-how-are-they-different\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cElder\u201d vs. \u201cOlder\u201d- How are they different?"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Elder vs Older<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><mark class=\"bs-highlight bs-highlight-default\"><em><strong>Elder<\/strong><\/em> is an adjective that can be used only when you are talking about people.<\/mark><\/p>\n<p><mark class=\"bs-highlight bs-highlight-default\"><em><strong>Older<\/strong><\/em> is an adjective, as well. But, unlike elder, it can be used for people as well as for animals and things.<\/mark><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The elder you get, the wiser you become!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Well, the philosophy is quite true! But does it sound right? Eh, not so much!<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s replace <em>elder<\/em> with <em>older<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The older you get, the wiser you become!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Yes, much better! So, what did we learn here?<\/p>\n<p>Both <em>elder<\/em> and <em>older<\/em> express comparison in age. But they cannot be used interchangeably <strong><em>in all cases<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s find out why.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Elder<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Elder<\/em> is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/\">adjective<\/a> that can be used only when you are talking about people.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>My <em>elder<\/em> daughter is a doctor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is not used for objects, places or animals. You cannot say, \u2018They have found an <em>elder<\/em> version of the book\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there is the \u2018Elder Wand\u2019, but it is just a classic case of creative liberty!<\/p>\n<p><em>Elder<\/em> cannot be used to make direct comparisons. So, while comparing the age of two people, the traditional <strong>than<\/strong> is not added after <em>elder<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Incorrect: James is <em>elder<\/em> than Lara.<\/li>\n<li>Correct: James is <em>elder<\/em> to Lara.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In some instances, <em>elder <\/em>is used to denote relatively old age, while expressing respect for a person\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>White is an <em>elder <\/em>member of the academy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Elder <\/em>is also used as a noun. It means older people, in a respectful manner.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <em>elders<\/em> of the family moved back to their hometown.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Older<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Older <\/em>is an adjective, as well. But, unlike <em>elder<\/em>, it can be used for people as well as for animals and things.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They have found an <em>older<\/em> version of the book.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Older<\/em> is sometimes used after <em>get<\/em> or <em>grow<\/em> to indicate aging. In such cases, <em>elder<\/em> cannot be used.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You will understand this once you get <em>older<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Older <\/em>is also used to compare the age of two people or objects. Here, we add <strong>than <\/strong>after <em>older<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>James is <em>older<\/em> than Lara.<\/li>\n<li>The Indus Valley civilization is believed to be <em>older<\/em> than the Egyptian civilization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some people like to use <em>older <\/em>while talking about someone who is \u2018more\u2019 in age or tenure. While it conveys the idea clearly, it fails to express the respect that <em>elder<\/em> does.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>White is an <em>older <\/em>member of the academy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also, <em>older<\/em> cannot be used as a noun.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Elder<\/em> or <em>Older: <\/em>What to use where? <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>While comparing the age of two people, it is fine to use either of the two. However, <em>older<\/em> is used more commonly.<\/li>\n<li><em>Elder<\/em> can be used only for people. So, while talking about anything else, use <em>older<\/em>!<\/li>\n<li>Get\/grow is followed by <em>older, <\/em>and never <em>elder<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Need a noun for old people? Use<em> elder<\/em>, and not <em>older<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There you go! Use these tips when you write the next time and bid adieu to confusion!<\/p>\n<p>Do you also have trouble choosing between affect and effect? Check out our blog &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/affect-vs-effect\/\">Affect vs Effect &#8211; What is the Difference?<\/a>&#8221; to see how we have made it easy for you! For even more clarity in your writing, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/grammar-checker\">grammar checker<\/a> can help you choose the right word every time.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elder vs Older &#8211; Elder is an adjective that can be used only when you are talking about people. Older is an adjective, as well. But, unlike elder, it can be used for people as well as for animals and things.<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208],"tags":[176,17],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/22.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6935,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions\/6935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinka.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}