7. Comparisons Flashcards
What are the most important comparison signals?
Like, unlike, as, than
What are other comparison signals?
- Like; unlike
- More than; less than
- Faster than
- Different from
- In contrast to/with
- As
- As (adjective) as
- As much as
- As little as
- As fast as
- The same as
When do you use “like” rather than “as”?
-Like is a preposition, which means that LIKE must be followed by nouns, pronouns or noun phrases
-NEVER put a clause or prepositional phrase after “like”
-Note that like can be followed by gerunds (-ing forms used as nouns; “like swimming, skiing is great exercise”)
CORRECT: LIKE her brother, Ava aced the test.
When do you use “as” rather than “like”?
- “As” can be either a preposition (appearing with a noun) or a conjunction (appearing with a clause)
- You can correctly use “as” to compare two clauses
WRONG: LIKE her brother DID, Ava aced the test.
CORRECT: AS her brother DID, Ava aced the test.
How must comparisons be parallel?
(1) Comparisons must be logically parallel (that is, they must compare similar things)
WRONG: Frank’s build, LIKE his brother, is broad and muscular
CORRECT: Frank’s build, LIKE that of his brother, is broad and muscular
(2) Comparisons must be structurally parallel (that is, they must have a similar grammatical structure)
WRONG: I like to run through forests more than I enjoy walking through crowds
CORRECT: I like running through forests MORE THAN walking through crowds
How can you omit words in the second part of a comparison?
(1) Use possessive nouns
(2) Omit units, verbs, and even whole clauses from the second term, as long as there is no ambiguity
When do you use the comparative form of an adjective or adverb?
- When comparing TWO things, use the comparative form (-er, more, less)
- Requires “than” in the sentence
E.g. She is SHORTER than her sister
E.g. You are MORE interesting than he
E.g. You are LESS interesting than she
When do you use the superlative form of an adjective or adverb?
-When comparing more than two things, use the superlative form (-est, most, least)
E.g. She is the SHORTEST of her five siblings
E.g. You are the MOST interesting person here
E.g. You are the LEAST interesting person here
Adrian runs quickly. He runs quicker than Jacob.
CORRECT: Adrian runs QUICKLY. He runs MORE QUICKLY than Jacob.
*DO NOT compare an adverb that ends in –ly by changing the ending to –er; instead add “more”
SC Guide, Ch 8, Q 5. Law students learn like a lawyer does.
CORRECT: Law students learn AS a lawyer does.
SC Guide, Ch 8, Q 10. The clothes looked more appealing inside the store than on the racks outside.
CORRECT as is.
SC Guide, Ch 8, Q 12. Thomas is more interested in video games than his girlfriend.
CORRECT: Thomas is more interested in video games than his girlfriend is.
CORRECT: Thomas is more interested in video games than he is in his girlfriend.
SC Guide, Ch 8, Q 13. Although the towers appear identical, the west tower is the tallest, standing 16 feet taller than the east tower.
CORRECT: Although the towers appear identical, the west tower is 16 feet taller than the east tower.
*When comparing two things, use the comparative form
SC Guide, Ch 8, Q 15. Courtney’s experiences at Haleford, a large research university with renowned professors, affluent students, and imposing buildings, were unlike her high school reservation.
CORRECT: Courtney’s experiences at Haleford, a large research university with renowned professors, affluent students, and imposing buildings, were unlike her experiences in high school on the reservation.
