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How to make comparisons in English
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far more voracious... * nowhere near... nowhere near as... as...* by far... * not nearly as... * a good deal more... * a lot more ... * much less... * not quite as... * twice as old as ... * half as interesting… *
There are some rules to help you make comparisons in English.
1 If the adjective (describing word) is one syllable, you can add -er.
For example, small – smaller; big – bigger; nice – nicer.
2 If the adjective has two syllables, but ends in -y, you can change the end to -ier.
For example, lucky – luckier; happy – happier.
3 With other English adjectives of two syllables and more, you can't change their endings. Instead, you should use more + adjective.
For example, handsome – more handsome; beautiful – more beautiful and so on.
4 When you compare two things, use 'than'.
"She's younger than me."
"This exercise is more difficult than the last one."
5 When you want to say something is similar, use 'as – as'.
For example, "She's as tall as her brother" or "It's as nice today as it was yesterday."
6 When you want to say one thing is less than another, you can either use 'less than' or 'not as – as'.
For example, "This programme is less interesting than I thought" or "This programme is not as interesting as I thought."
7 Remember that some adjectives are irregular and change form when you make comparisons.
For example, good – better; bad – worse; far – further.
You can vary the strength of the comparison by using "qualifying" expressions.
1. Comparing two things
You can use "a lot", "much", "a little", "slightly" and "far" before "more / less than":
"She's a lot more intelligent than him."
"This car is much faster than the other one."
"They are much less wealthy than they used to be."
"He's a little taller than his sister."
"She's slightly less interested in football than him.
"We are far more involved in charity than they are."
When you use these qualifying expressions in English, remember the rules about using -er. If the adjective is one syllable, or ends in -y, add -er:
"He's far taller than her." (NOT "He's far more taller…")
"I'm much lazier than you!"
When the adjective is two syllables and more, you need either "more" or "less":
"He's a little more prepared for the exam than she is." (NOT "He's a little prepareder…")
2. Saying how two things are similar
You can use "almost as … as", "not quite as … as", "(not) nearly as … as", "nowhere near as … as", "twice as … as" and "half as … as" to change the extent of the similarity.
"She's almost as good as you!"
"He's not quite as confident as Susie."
"I'm not nearly as intelligent as her!"
"This painting is nowhere near as famous as the first."
"She's twice as old as him!
"He's half as interesting as you!"
+ an extract from Objective IELTS Advanced SB (p.37 Style extra)
The writer uses comparative structures to emphasise the scale of the problem:
far more voracious uses of fossil fuels than ...
plastic bags are nowhere near the world's worst environment problem ...
The tone of these examples is inappropriate to academic writing. However, the Cambridge Academic Corpus shows that comparatives are often used in academic writing.
Examples:
The drug has in fact been shown to be far more effective than expected in its early trials.
A simple soil bacterium could become by far the best solution to dealing with toxic waste.
Most of the prototypes being exhibited are slightly smaller than final products will be.
Unlike cardboard, plastic is waterproof and not nearly as heavy to transport, either.
The long-term effects on the environment are a good deal more serious than first claimed.
English grammar notes - comparison with as...as
Contents
1. Inequality: adjectives
2. Inequality: verb + adverbs
3. inequality: quantity
4. Inequality: noun phrases
5. Inequality: modifying with adverbs nearly, quite, nowhere near
6. Equality: adjectives, adverbs, quantity
7. Equality: modifying with adverbs nearly and quite
0. Core
It isn't (It's not) as big as the old one
It doesn't work as well as we'd hoped
It isn't (It's not) such a big problem as you might think
Jenny's new flat isn't as nice as her old one.
It hasn't got such a big garden as the old one.
Michael didn't play as well as he did last week.
It's as good as you can get for the price.
We finished as quickly as we could.
1. Inequality: adjectives
We can show that two things are not equal using not + as + adjective + as
When we use this structure, the first thing mentioned is 'less' than the second thing. (The order of the things you are comparing is opposite to that used in comparisons with comparative adjectives.)
This one isn't as big as the old one. (The old one is bigger than this one.)
Jenny's new flat isn't as nice as her old one. (Jenny's old flat is nicer than her new one.)
Paris isn't as big as Tokyo (Tokyo is bigger than Paris.)
Contractions You can contract the subject / verb to be / not in two ways:
It isn't as big as... OR It's not as big as...
(There is no difference in meaning)
2. Inequality: verb + adverbs
We can use the as....as structure to compare actions. Again, the order of the things compared is the opposite to that in a comparison with comparative adverbs.
It doesn't work as well as we'd hoped. (We'd hoped it would work better than it does.)
Michael didn't play as well this week as he did last week. (Michael played better last week than he did this week.)
3. Inequality: quantity
The as...as structure is often used with quantity expressions such as 'much' and 'many'.
This phone doesn't have as many features as the other one. (The other phone has more features than this one.)
My ticket didn't cost as much as yours. (Your ticket cost more than mine.)
4. Inequality: noun phrases
We can use not + such + noun phrase + as to compare things using noun phrases.
The journey to London doesn't take such a long time as it used to. (The journey to London used to take longer.)
I don't have such an interesting job as Julia. (Julia has a more interesting job than I do.)
5. Inequality: modifying with adverbs nearly, quite, nowhere near
When we want to show that there is a big or a small difference between the things being compared we can use the adverbs 'nearly', 'nowhere near' and 'quite'.
Emphasizing a big difference:
England isn't nearly as big as Russia.
England is nowhere near as big as Russia.
(Russia is much bigger than England.)
My shoes didn't cost nearly as much as yours.
My shoes cost nowhere near as much as yours.
(Your shoes cost much more than mine.)
There aren't nearly as many people here today as there were yesterday.
There are nowhere near as many people here today as there were yesterday.
(There were far more people here yesterday than there are today.)
Setting up a business isn't nearly such a complicated process now as it used to be.
Setting up a business is nowhere near such a complicated process now as it used to be.
(Setting up a business used to be a much more complicated process than it is now.)
Emphasizing a small difference:
My flat isn't quite as big as Jenny's. (Jenny's flat is a little / a bit / slightly bigger than mine.)
The journey didn't take quite as long as it did last time. (The journey took a little / a bit / slightly longer last time.)
It isn't quite such a nice restaurant as the one we used before. (The restaurant we used before was a little / a bit / slightly nicer.)
6. Equality: adjectives, adverbs, quantity
We can use the as...as structure in a positive form to show that things are the same.
Adjectives
My cooking is as good as yours. (The quality of my cooking is the same as yours.)
Adverbs
I can sing as well as you can. (My ability to sing is the same as yours.)
Quantity
There are as many people here who can speak Chinese as English. (The numbers of people here who can speak Chinese and English are the same.)
7. Equality: modifying with adverbs nearly and quite
When we use nearly and quite to modify positive as...as sentences, the meanings are different.
Small differences: nearly
With a positive as...as structure, 'nearly' shows a small difference
David is nearly as tall as Michael. (Small difference: Michael is only a little taller than David.)
Compare this with the negative sentence:
David isn't nearly as tall as Michael. (Big difference: Michael is much taller than David.)
Using 'quite' and 'just' for emphasis
If we want to emphasize that two things are the same, (for example, because the person we are speaking to may not accept what we are saying) we can use
'quite' and 'just':
A: You're a terrible tennis player!
B: I'm just as good as you!
This phone is quite as good as that one even if it does cost less.
1. He is __ me.
older
more old than
older than
For adjectives of one syllable, add -er to the adjective. Remember to use 'than' afterwards when you compare two things or people.
2. Her garden is __ mine.
more pretty than
prettyer than
prettier than
With two-syllable adjectives that end in -y, change the -y ending to -ier.
3. This exercise is __ the last one.
more difficult
more difficult than
difficult than
For most adjectives of two or more syllables, use 'more' + adjective + than to make a comparison. (So 'more difficult than' and not 'difficulter than'.)
4. He's more __ his brother.
handsome
handsome than
handsomer
Remember to use 'than' when you compare two things or people.
5. She's __ her mother.
as tall as
as tall
taller
When you want to say two things are equal or similar, use as + adjective + as.
6. This quiz is __ the last one.
as easy as
as easy than
easier
Remember: as + adjective + as (not as + adjective + than).
7. He's less rich __ his brother.
than
as
-
You can use 'less' in the same way as 'more', but you don't need +er on the adjective. You also need 'than' for a comparison of two things or people.
8. Milan is __ Rome.
more beautiful as
as beautiful than
less beautiful than
9. Her car is __ than mine.
much more old
much older
much old
You can use 'much' in the comparison (to show a big difference). But don't forget the other rules: with one-syllable adjective add -er to the adjective and 'than' afterwards.
10. I'm a __ you.
little more old than
little older
little older than
You can use 'little' in the same way as 'much'.
11. The lesson is __ than I thought.
far more difficult
far difficult
difficult
You can also use 'far' in the same way as 'much' or 'less'.
12. He __ his father.
isn't as tall as
not as tall as
is tall as
You can also have a negative comparative: 'not as + adjective + as'.
13. She isn't __ her mother.
more beautiful as
beautiful than
as beautiful as
Be careful not to use 'more' instead of 'as' when you talk about similarity.
14. His new film __ the last one.
isn't as funny than
is funnier
is funnier than
15. The situation is __ we thought.
much complicated than
more complicated
more complicated than
16. She's __ her sister at tennis.
more good than
better than
as better than
'Good' is an irregular adjective. The comparative form is 'better'.
17. He's __ his brother at driving.
worse than
worst than
more bad than
'Bad' is another irregular adjective. The comparative form is 'worse'.
18. Cambridge is __ Oxford from London.
farer than
more far than
further than
'Far' is another irregular adjective. The comparative form is 'further'.
19. Italy is __ France.
more hotter than
a bit hotter than
a bit hot than
20. Lemons __ oranges.
aren't as sweet as
aren't sweet as
aren't more sweet as
Degree modifiers with comparatives and superlatives
We cannot use very with comparatives. Instead we use other degree modifiers like much, far, very much, a lot, lots, any, no, rather, a little, a bit and even.
She is much older than her husband. (NOT ... very older than ...)
Is he any better?
Russian is much/far more difficult than Spanish.
You are no better than him.
Grammar Notes
Note that any, no, a bit and a lot are not normally used to modify comparatives before nouns.
There are much better shops in the city. (NOT ... a bit/a lot better ...)
Quite is not normally used with comparatives, but it is possible in the expression quite better, meaning 'recovered from an illness'.
Superlatives can be modified by much and by far, and by other adverbs of degree such as quite and almost.
She is by far the oldest in the firm.
He is quite the most stupid person I have ever met.
When more modifies a plural noun, it is modified by many.
many more opportunities
When more modifies a singular/uncountable noun, it is modified by much.
Summa
Summa
as - as
than
Converting structures
(Compact Advanced U2 Speaking. Making comparisons)
The British drink just as much tea as they did in the past. -> (small diff)
The British don’t drink as less tea as they did in the past.
The British don’t drink any less tea than they did in the past.
They carry umbrellas because rain is a lot more frequent there. -> (big diff)
They carry umbrellas because it rains a lot more frequently there.
The USA has slightly fewer public holidays than some other countries. -> (small diff)
The USA doesn’t have quite as many public holidays as some other countries.
The USA doesn’t have quite so many public holidays as some other countries.
Having a lot of brothers and sisters isn’t nearly as common as it used to be. -> (big diff)
Having a lot of brothers and sisters is far less common than it used to be.
Having a lot of brothers and sisters is much less common than it used to be.
Having a lot of brothers and sisters is a lot less common than it used to be.
Years ago, people were far more likely to marry young than they are today. -> (big diff)
Today, people are not nearly so likely to marry young as years ago.
Today, people are not nearly as likely to marry young as years ago.
Diwali is a great deal more widely celebrated internationally than it was. -> (big diff)
20 years ago, Diwali was nowhere near as widely celebrated internationally as nowadays/it is now.
20 years ago, Diwali was nowhere near so widely celebrated internationally as nowadays.
Some think April Fool’s Day is twice as much fun as St Valentine’s Day. -> (big diff)
Some think St Valentine’s Day isn't half as much fun as April Fool’s Day
Analytical approach
see the sentence above
Some think April Fool’s Day is twice as much fun as St Valentine’s Day
= Some think St Valentine’s Day isn't half as much fun as April Fool’s Day
= Some think St Valentine’s Day is not nearly as much fun as April Fool’s Day
= Some think St Valentine’s Day is nowhere near as much fun as April Fool’s Day
is - positive
is not - negative
much fun - positive
less fun - negotive
half - neg?
twice - pos
- hyperbole = (neg +neg) + pos
+hyperbole = (pos + pos) + pos
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