Nothing makes me happier than or then

Q: What does I couldnt be any happier mean?

Definition of couldnt be happier : to be very happy I couldnt be happier with the way our new kitchen looks.

Than is used in comparisons as a conjunction (as in "she is younger than I am") and as a preposition ("he is taller than me"). Then indicates time. It is used as an adverb ("I lived in Idaho then"), noun ("we'll have to wait until then"), and adjective ("the then-governor").
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Keeping 'Then' and 'Than' Separate
More Commonly Confused Words
nothing happier | The Grammar Exchange
Is it correct to say happier?
Is it much happier or more happier?
What does I couldn't be any happier mean?

There's nothing more embarrassing then correcting someone's language only to realize that your correction contains its own error. Like maybe the one in our first sentence. Did you see it? That harmless little four-letter word then. It should have been than.

People get tripped up on then and than all the time—and why not? They look and sound so similar, and both words function as linguistic workhorses—then is most often an adverb, while than is usually a conjunction—which means that we mostly use them to connect more obviously significant nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

Keeping 'Then' and 'Than' Separate

The way to keep the pair straight is to focus on this basic difference: than is used when you're talking about comparisons; then is used when you're talking about something relating to time.

Than is the word to choose in phrases like smaller than, smoother than, and further than. And it's the word that follows other, rather, less, and more.

Then—the option to choose when time is involved—fits in the phrases just then and back then, and after words like since and until. It's also in the phrases and then some, every now and then, and even then.

In a handful of cases, though, than is used to say that something happens immediately after something else—that is, it's used when you're talking about something relating to time. So in "No sooner had I explained the rule than an exception came to mind," it's than not then that's required. And also in hardly had I explained it than and scarcely had I explained it than. (Sorry…)

So when did this pair get so confusing? Turns out they've always been that way. Linguistically speaking, they're identical twins. In Middle English, they were the same word; both spellings were used for all the various meanings. It's been a few hundred years, however, since English has treated them as distinct, which means we have to too. We could go back to Middle English, but we think that would be harder then—um, that is, harder than—mastering these.

More Commonly Confused Words

'They're' vs. 'There' vs. 'Their'
'Who' vs. 'Whom'
'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
'Further' vs. 'Farther'

nothing happier | The Grammar Exchange

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1.Nothing makes me happier than hearing from an old friend.

Can you rewrite the sentence above like the one below?

2. There is nothing happier than hearing from an old friend.

Does it sound natural.
If not, why not?
It's because "happy" takes an animate subject?

Apple

11/26/131:35 AM

Last edited 11/26/134:37 AM {1}

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I like the original sentence better, but the rewrite does not trouble me a great deal. Merriam-Webster Unabridged shows many examples of happy used (attributively) with inanimate things. But if you substituted the synonym more pleasant in the rewrite, the sentence might be improved.

There is nothing more pleasant than hearing from an old friend.

quote:
There is nothing more pleasant than hearing from an old friend.

We could also substitute "better" for "happier" / "more pleasant":

There's nothing better than hearing from an old friend.

"[There's] nothing better than . . ." is a commonly used construction in the U.S. It can be followed by a noun phrase, a gerund clause, or an infinitive clause. From COCA:

"Nothing better than fresh peas right out of the pod."
"There's nothing better than waking up on Christmas morning to fresh-baked croissants . . . ."
". . . there's nothing better than to go back to the scene and have the same sort of lighting . . . ."

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Is it correct to say happier?

“Happier” is the most common spelling for the comparative form of the adjective “happy.” When an adjective has two syllables and ends on a -y, you will normally change the -y to an “i” to add either -er or -est.

Is it much happier or more happier?

Much happier is correct. Much more happier is not correct. With comparatives, you either have the "er" ending or use the word "more" before the adjective. Much more intelligent.