Older or Elder

Older or Elder

Older: This is used while indicating persons, animals or things. `Than’ is used after older.

E.g.

She is older than me.

Or, my dog, Cooper is older than my cat, Candy.

Elder: This is used only for human beings, not for animals or things. It is used to denote the position of one person with reference to another person or among members of the same family. `To’ is used after elder, not `than’

E.g.

My father is elder to my mother.

Or, The Principal of our school is elder to my English teacher.

Test your understanding - Choose the correct sentence from the pair of sentences given below

1.
a. Mr Rajesh Gupta is elder than Mr Ashish Sharma. Both are Directors in a company.
b. Mr Rajesh Gupta is elder to Mr Ashish Sharma. Both are Directors in a company.

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2.
a. . Our furniture is older to my aunt’s furniture.
b. Our furniture is older than my aunt’s furniture.

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3.
a. Her sister is elder to Sunita, the President of the Society.
b. Her sister is elder than Sunita, the President of the Society.

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4.
a. Prashanti, our maid, is older than your maid, Mamoni.
b. Prashanti, our maid, is older to your maid, Mamoni.

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5.
a. Goofy, the dog in our compound, is older to Ginny, your dog.
b. Goofy, the dog in our compound, is older than Ginny, your dog.

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