Some resources claim that grateful is an inner feeling and thankful is an expression of that feeling. As an example: “The dog was grateful for being saved, and its sloppy kiss showed it was thankful.” Or, “Being grateful for the gift, he displayed it with the thankful glow in his eyes.”

I see the difference, but that difference seems to be refuted by as many sources as claim it is so. I checked with half a dozen dictionaries, and there seemed to be confusion and no accordance. Even the definitions shown above both use “expressing” as a part of the definition for grateful.

What to Do?

Now I was in a dilemma, not a place I’m fond of. What should I do? How do you explain the difference and definition of grateful or thankful when the dictionaries don’t seem to be able to?

Grateful or Thankful

I came to a decision quickly. Right or wrong, I was going to go with the reasoning and definition I had learned as a kid.

What was that?

Simple. Grateful is used for intangible things, like love care, as in “She was grateful for his undying love.” And thankful is used for tangibles, like a gift, as in “He was thankful for the new tie she gave him.”

Using it this way, I don’t mess it up—at least according to me. And I doubt if anyone would question it, and if they did, it’s doubtful if they’d find a source to agree. With that in mind, I feel safe for now. Who knows, next week it may change. In the meantime, I’ll continue using it the way I have been.

If you want more blogs on grammar, consider this one.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about publishing.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count, they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with Giacomo every day and happens to also be his best buddy.

He lives in Texas where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty-five loving “friends.”