Comparing Things in English

Why We Compare Things All the Time

We often compare things when we are talking and the simple way of comparing in English is adding -er to small words like big – bigger, tall – taller, cheap – cheaper and adding more or less to the bigger words like less expensive, more beautiful, more interesting, or even using better than / the best / the worst.

But there are some other ways we can compare things in English that help our English sound more advanced and show our range when comparing things. Let’s look at a few powerful patterns you can start using today.

As … as – Same Level or Not as Good?

We can use this construction when we think two things are at the same level. Imagine you’ve watched a film, and then there is a second part of this film and your friend asks you: “Is it any good?” – a phrase we use when asking about ratings.

You can say: “It is good. It is as good as the first one.” This shows they are on the same level.

• “This restaurant is as good as the one we went to last week.”
• “The book was as interesting as the film.”

If you say “not as good as” then it shows it is not on the same level; it’s worse:

• “It’s not as good as the first one.”
• “This coffee is not as strong as my usual one.”

If you want to ask a question, simply ask: “Is it as good as the first one?” And remember if you think it’s on a higher level you can just say: “It’s better.”

Bigger and bigger / more and more

We can use the construction -er and -er or more and more / less and less to show that something is improving or getting worse.

Imagine you’ve got a small hole in your trousers and as the day goes on you notice it is bigger. You would probably say:

“I need to go home and change my trousers. I’ve got a hole in them and it’s getting bigger and bigger.”

When we want to show improving and worsening with bigger adjectives, we can use more and more or less and less:

• “I’m going to have to move cities because the rent is getting more and more expensive.”
• “My teacher Luke gets more and more handsome each day.”
• “People are becoming less and less interested in TV.”

By far the… – Strongest Opinion

We use by far the… to show we think a person or thing is better (or worse) than anything else, and not just a little – by a lot.

If we think about films and there are 3 parts of a film, and you think part 2 is better by a long way, you can say:

• “Part 2 is by far the best of the three.”

Talking about food:

• “ATB is by far the cheapest supermarket.”

Talking about travel or experiences:

• “My trip to Germany was by far the most interesting.”
• “It was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had.”

A bit / slightly / a little / much – How Big Is the Difference?

Like the patterns above, we can add these words before our comparison to show the level of difference.

If we think something is only “a little better” we say exactly that:

• “This coffee is a bit stronger than yesterday’s.”
• “Your new phone is slightly faster than mine.”
• “The blue dress is a little more expensive than the black one.”

We use much to show there is a big difference:

• “This supermarket is much more expensive.”
• “The dress you wore yesterday was much better than today’s.”
• “My new job is much less stressful than my old one.”