Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered

[kadioguy]

[Source]

It seems no reason to me to use "remembered" here [in the past sense].

I would say "Sonic seems a bit different than I remember" (which means that is not what I remember [now]).

What do you think?

 

[emsr2d2]

The original is OK. The writer remembered Sonic in a particular way until they saw what it looked like on a fake PS5.

 

[kadioguy]

a. Sonic seems a bit different than I remember.
b. Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered.

Could you please tell me what is the difference in meaning between them in this case?

 

[emsr2d2]

a. Sonic seems a bit different than I remember.
b. Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered.

Could you please tell me what is the difference in meaning between them in this case is?

As you've already stated, the first suggests that the speaker still remembers Sonic differently and the second that they used to remember Sonic differently.

 

[Barque]

"Different than" sounds American to me. I'd probably say "different from".

Sonic seems a little different from what I remember.

 

[emsr2d2]

I always used to correct "different than" to "different from" on this forum but I gave up doing it about six months ago. It's clear that it's an acceptable form in at least one variant.

In the case of the original, "different from" would need the addition of a word. "Sonic is different from how I remember".

However, it's worth noting that (as Barque said), BrE uses "different from" and "similar to". That's how I used to teach my students to remember it - "from" and "to" are opposites, but "than" and "to" aren't.

 

[kadioguy]

a. Sonic seems a bit different than I remember.
b. Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered.

Could you please tell me what the difference in meaning between them in this case is?

So,
(a) means that is not what I remember [now].
(b) means that is not what I remembered/expected.

Sonic seems a little different from what I remember.

"Sonic is different from how I remember".

Perhaps:

1. Sonic seems a little/is different from what I remember.
2. Sonic seems a little/is different from how I remember it.

What do you think?

 

[tedmc]

The past tense of the verb "remembered" always gives me the impression that the person remembered something in the past but, with fading memory, no longer remembers it now. Otherwise why use the past tense? It doesn't make sense to me if one still remembers something but use the verb in the past tense.

 

[5jj]

If you reject language that 'doesn't make sense', you'll lose a lot of the language.

Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered means something like than the picture of him I had in my mind.

 

[kadioguy]

Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered means something like than the picture of him I had in my mind.

I think the issue is that in this case the writer can still say Sonic seems a bit different than I remember, which means something like than the picture of him I have in my mind.

I believe that's what tedmc meant to say.

 

[Barque]

Ok, a little late in the day, but who or what is Sonic?

 

[emsr2d2]

Sonic The Hedgehog was one of the first video games that came out for home consoles. Lots of people just refer to it as Sonic.

 

[tedmc]

1. If you reject language that 'doesn't make sense', you'll lose a lot of the language.

Sonic seems a bit different than I remembered means something like than the picture of him I had in my mind.

1. It's not the language that doesn't make sense. It's how a reader perceives/reads what is written.

2. I think "remembered" is different from "what one has in mind" at that moment. To remember is to be able to recall/retrieve from one's memory. What a person has in mind is what a person thinks at that moment

 

[kadioguy]

l'd say "remembered" here is close to "expected". This is perhaps the only reason to me that the writer used it. Otherwise "remember" would have sufficed.

 

[Barque]

What a person has in mind is what a person thinks at that moment

I believe what 5jj meant by "the picture...I had in my mind" was "the picture I had in my mind based on what I remembered".

 

[Tarheel]

This American uses different from.