×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.

image

Oxford Online English, 5 Ways to Compare and Contrast in English

5 Ways to Compare and Contrast in English

Hi, I'm Maria.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn how to compare and contrast things in English.

When you compare two—or more—things, you need to talk about similarities and differences

between them.

This is a very global skill; it could be useful in spoken English, or in writing.

In this lesson, you'll learn different language you can use to talk about how similar or different

two things are.

We'll cover many different topics, to show you different ways to use your new language.

Let's start by seeing how you can talk about big differences.

Our topic for this section is travel.

So, you went to Vietnam and Laos, right?

What did you think?

They were both great, but totally different.

It's hard to compare them.

It's strange, really, because they're so close geographically, but in other ways

they're almost nothing alike.

What was the biggest difference?

I'd say the pace of life.

In Vietnam everything moves so much faster.

Laos is way more relaxed.

Which did you like better?

It's hard to say.

I liked them both, but for different reasons.

In this short dialogue, you saw five phrases you can use to talk about two things which

are very different.

Do you remember what they were?

If two things are very different, you can say:

They're totally different.

It's hard to compare them.

They're almost nothing alike.

These are fixed phrases, but you can adapt them to express different ideas.

For example:

They're so different.

It's impossible to compare them.

They're nothing alike.

You can also use a comparative adjective or adverb.

For example, in the dialogue, you heard:

Everything moves so much faster.

Laos is way more relaxed.

Before a comparative, you can add an intensifier like much, so much, or way to show that you're

talking about a big difference.

Using way is more conversational.

You can use these in many different situations; for example:

Lisbon is much cheaper than most European cities.

The museum was so much more interesting than I expected.

Shanghai is way bigger than anywhere I've been before.

There's a common mistake which English learners often make here with much and more.

If you need more, it's part of the comparative, like more interesting.

If you add much, it adds emphasis and shows that you're talking about a large difference.

Don't say things like:

Tokyo is much expensive than other Asian cities.

The food in Mexico was much more cheaper than in the States.

Can you correct these sentences?

Tokyo is much more expensive than other Asian cities.

The food in Mexico was much cheaper than in the States.

These are common mistakes, so be careful!

Now, let's see how you can talk about things which are very similar.

In this section, we're going to talk about describing people.

Have you met his brother?

Yeah!

They're so alike; I could hardly tell them apart!

I kept mixing up their names.

I know!

It's weird, right?

They could be twins.

It's funny because they look so similar, and they seem to have the same personality,

too.

Equally chatty, equally funny…

His brother is just as sarcastic as he is, too.

Yeah, true.

Again, you heard five phrases to describe people who are very similar.

Do you remember them?

If you want to find them yourself, you can go back and listen to the dialogue again.

Try to write them down.

If two people are very similar, you could say:

They're so alike.

I can hardly tell them apart.

They look so similar.

They're equally chatty.

He's just as sarcastic as his brother.

Of course, you can adapt these phrases; for example:

The way they talk is so similar.

They're equally funny.

She's just as impatient as her mother.

Here's a task for you: can you think of two people you know who are very similar?

Write down three sentences to describe them, using the language you just saw.

Pause the video and do it now!

You've seen how to use this language to talk about people, but you can use the same

phrases to talk about many different things; for example:

I can hardly tell these two wines apart.

I hated both cities; they're equally terrible.

Playing golf is just as boring as watching it.

Next, you're going to see how to talk about small differences.

Our topic for the next section?

Sports!

Good game, right?

Yeah, it was.

They played a bit better than last week, I thought.

Yup.

They were just a little sharper in those key moments.

I thought the keeper did slightly better, too.

He wasn't quite as hesitant as he was last week, and you could see the defence looked

more solid.

They looked good going forward, too.

They were just a touch faster moving the ball around.

True.

They weren't doing that last week.

Again, you heard five phrases to talk about small differences.

Can you remember them?

Again, you can review the dialogue and write them down if you want to find them yourself.

When talking about small differences, you can use a modifier plus a comparative adjective

or adverb, like this:

They played a bit better.

They were just a little sharper.

The keeper did slightly better.

They were a touch faster.

You can also use quite as… as… to show that two things are slightly different, like

this:

He wasn't quite as hesitant as he was last week.

In the dialogue, we were talking about a football match that we both saw, but you can use these

phrases and structures to talk about many different topics.

For example:

Taking the train will be a bit faster.

She's a little older than her husband.

This isn't quite as spicy as the last time you made it.

Let's look at one more topic.

In the next section, we're going to talk about food.

What did you think?

It was tasty, but the dishes didn't vary much.

Everything tasted much the same.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Did you try the shrimp?

Yeah.

That was probably the best, but the main dishes were all pretty similar.

Tomato, sweet, slightly spicy…

Maybe we just didn't order the right things.

I don't think it's that.

I've been there before, and it was more or less like tonight.

It was a bit disappointing, especially for the price.

It was nearly as expensive as that Japanese place we went to for my birthday!

Yeah, I know.

Let's not go back.

Here, we were talking about a bad restaurant, where everything tasted almost the same.

Of course, talking about close similarities is similar to talking about minor differences.

The only difference is your focus.

If two things are slightly different, you can use different language depending on whether

you want to focus on the differences or on the similarities.

In this dialogue, you heard five phrases to describe slight similarities.

Can you remember them?

You heard:

The dishes didn't vary much.

Everything tasted much the same.

The main dishes were all pretty similar.

It was more or less like tonight.

It was nearly as expensive as that Japanese place we went to for my birthday.

Of course, you can adapt these phrases to talk about different things; for example:

Apartments here don't vary much.

You can do it today or tomorrow—it's much the same to me.

A lot of small towns in the UK are pretty similar.

There are different versions of rugby, but the basic idea is more or less the same.

My nephew is almost as tall as me now!

Now, you should know how to talk about differences and similarities in different ways.

Let's see how you can put everything you've learned together.

Of course, when you're speaking or writing naturally, you don't necessarily want to

talk about only big differences, or only similarities.

You may need to use a range of different language.

You're going to see two longer answers on different topics, using a range of language

from this lesson.

First, let's see an answer comparing two cities: Moscow and St Petersburg:

If you visit Russia, you should definitely visit both Moscow and St Petersburg.

They're completely different cities.

St Petersburg feels much more European than Moscow, while Moscow is a bit grittier, but

very interesting.

Things like accommodation, food, transport and so on are much the same in both places.

It's slightly easier to find a cheaper place to stay in St Petersburg, but Moscow has a

bit more variety when it comes to eating out.

To get around, take the metro, which is just as efficient in both cities.

Have you been to Moscow or St Petersburg?

What would you add to our description?

You can let us know in the comments!

Let's look at one more longer example.

This time, we're going to compare working at home with working in an office.

It's hard to compare working at home and working in an office.

People think that working at home would be much more relaxing, but that's not always

true.

You still have to do just as much work, so it can be equally stressful.

Of course, you have slightly more freedom to plan your own day, but you also have to

be a bit more responsible, because otherwise you end up wasting a lot of time.

In the end, you save time commuting, but most people waste a little more time, so you spend

nearly as much time working as if you just went to work.

Can you see how this answer uses different phrases and structures from the lesson to

compare these two points?

What do you think about this topic?

Would you prefer to work at home, or work in an office?

Let us know in the comments.

Finally, could you make a longer answer like this?

You could compare two cities you've visited, two different cuisines, two people you know,

or something else.

You can use this language to talk about almost anything!

If you enjoyed this lesson, visit our website for more free English lessons: Oxford Online

English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

5 Ways to Compare and Contrast in English |||||en| 5 Möglichkeiten, auf Englisch zu vergleichen und zu kontrastieren 5 formas de comparar y contrastar en inglés 5 façons de comparer et d'opposer en anglais 英語で比較対照する5つの方法 영어로 비교하고 대조하는 5가지 방법 5 manieren om te vergelijken en te contrasteren in het Engels 5 sposobów na porównanie i kontrast w języku angielskim 5 maneiras de comparar e contrastar em inglês 5 способов сравнения и противопоставления в английском языке İngilizce Karşılaştırma ve Zıtlık Yapmanın 5 Yolu 5 способів порівнювати та протиставляти в англійській мові 5 Cách So Sánh Và Tương Phản Trong Tiếng Anh 用英语进行比较和对比的 5 种方法 以英語進行比較和對比的 5 種方法

Hi, I'm Maria.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn how to compare and contrast things in English. 이 레슨에서는 영어로 사물을 비교하고 대조하는 방법을 배웁니다.

When you compare two—or more—things, you need to talk about similarities and differences

between them.

This is a very global skill; it could be useful in spoken English, or in writing. Dies ist eine sehr globale Fähigkeit; es könnte in gesprochenem Englisch oder schriftlich nützlich sein.

In this lesson, you'll learn different language you can use to talk about how similar or different |||||||tu|||||||||

two things are. zwei Dinge sind.

We'll cover many different topics, to show you different ways to use your new language. Wir werden viele verschiedene Themen behandeln, um Ihnen verschiedene Möglichkeiten zu zeigen, wie Sie Ihre neue Sprache verwenden können.

Let's start by seeing how you can talk about big differences. Beginnen wir damit, zu sehen, wie man über große Unterschiede sprechen kann.

Our topic for this section is travel.

So, you went to Vietnam and Laos, right? Sie sind also nach Vietnam und Laos gegangen, richtig?

What did you think? Was haben Sie gedacht?

They were both great, but totally different. Sie waren beide großartig, aber völlig unterschiedlich.

It's hard to compare them.

It's strange, really, because they're so close geographically, but in other ways |||||||geograficamente||||

they're almost nothing alike. ils sont|||semblent similaires sie sind fast nichts gleich.

What was the biggest difference?

I'd say the pace of life. ||le||| |||ritmo|| Ich würde sagen, das Tempo des Lebens. Я б сказав, темп життя.

In Vietnam everything moves so much faster. In Vietnam geht alles so viel schneller.

Laos is way more relaxed. |est|||décontracté Laos ist viel entspannter.

Which did you like better? Welche hat dir besser gefallen?

It's hard to say.

I liked them both, but for different reasons.

In this short dialogue, you saw five phrases you can use to talk about two things which

are very different.

Do you remember what they were?

If two things are very different, you can say:

They're totally different.

It's hard to compare them.

They're almost nothing alike. Sie sind fast nichts gleich. Вони майже нічим не схожі.

These are fixed phrases, but you can adapt them to express different ideas. Dies sind feste Sätze, aber Sie können sie anpassen, um verschiedene Ideen auszudrücken.

For example:

They're so different. Sie sind so unterschiedlich.

It's impossible to compare them.

They're nothing alike. Ils sont||

You can also use a comparative adjective or adverb.

For example, in the dialogue, you heard:

Everything moves so much faster. tout|||| Alles geht so viel schneller.

Laos is way more relaxed. Laos|||| Laos ist viel entspannter.

Before a comparative, you can add an intensifier like much, so much, or way to show that you're |||||||intensificateur|||||ou||||| |||||||muito||||||||||

talking about a big difference.

Using way is more conversational. Die Verwendung von Weg ist gesprächiger.

You can use these in many different situations; for example:

Lisbon is much cheaper than most European cities. Lisbonne||||||| Lissabon ist viel billiger als die meisten europäischen Städte.

The museum was so much more interesting than I expected. Das Museum war so viel interessanter als ich erwartet hatte.

Shanghai is way bigger than anywhere I've been before. Shanghai ist viel größer als jeder andere Ort, an dem ich je gewesen bin.

There's a common mistake which English learners often make here with much and more. Es gibt einen häufigen Fehler, den Englischlerner hier oft mit viel und mehr machen.

If you need more, it's part of the comparative, like more interesting. ||||c'est|||||||

If you add much, it adds emphasis and shows that you're talking about a large difference. Wenn Sie viel hinzufügen, wird dies betont und zeigt, dass Sie von einem großen Unterschied sprechen.

Don't say things like:

Tokyo is much expensive than other Asian cities. Tokio ist viel teurer als andere asiatische Städte.

The food in Mexico was much more cheaper than in the States. Das Essen in Mexiko war viel billiger als in den Staaten.

Can you correct these sentences?

Tokyo is much more expensive than other Asian cities.

The food in Mexico was much cheaper than in the States. Das Essen in Mexiko war viel billiger als in den Staaten.

These are common mistakes, so be careful! Dies sind häufige Fehler, also seien Sie vorsichtig!

Now, let's see how you can talk about things which are very similar. Lassen Sie uns nun sehen, wie Sie über Dinge sprechen können, die sehr ähnlich sind.

In this section, we're going to talk about describing people. In diesem Abschnitt werden wir über die Beschreibung von Personen sprechen.

Have you met his brother? Hast du seinen Bruder getroffen?

Yeah!

They're so alike; I could hardly tell them apart! Ils sont|||je||||| ||iguais|||||| Sie sind sich so ähnlich; Ich konnte sie kaum auseinander halten!

I kept mixing up their names. Je||||| Ich habe ihre Namen immer wieder verwechselt. Я постійно плутав їхні імена.

I know!

It's weird, right? Es ist seltsam, oder?

They could be twins. Sie könnten Zwillinge sein.

It's funny because they look so similar, and they seem to have the same personality, Es ist lustig, weil sie so ähnlich aussehen und die gleiche Persönlichkeit zu haben scheinen,

too.

Equally chatty, equally funny… equally|loquace|equally|divertente |conversador|igualmente| Gleich gesprächig, gleich lustig…

His brother is just as sarcastic as he is, too. Sein Bruder ist genauso sarkastisch wie er.

Yeah, true.

Again, you heard five phrases to describe people who are very similar.

Do you remember them?

If you want to find them yourself, you can go back and listen to the dialogue again.

Try to write them down.

If two people are very similar, you could say:

They're so alike. ||iguais

I can hardly tell them apart. je||||| Я майже не можу їх розрізнити.

They look so similar.

They're equally chatty. Ils sont|également| Sie sind gleichermaßen gesprächig.

He's just as sarcastic as his brother.

Of course, you can adapt these phrases; for example:

The way they talk is so similar. The|||||| Die Art, wie sie sprechen, ist so ähnlich.

They're equally funny. They are||

She's just as impatient as her mother. Elle est|||||| |||impaciente||| Sie ist genauso ungeduldig wie ihre Mutter.

Here's a task for you: can you think of two people you know who are very similar?

Write down three sentences to describe them, using the language you just saw.

Pause the video and do it now!

You've seen how to use this language to talk about people, but you can use the same

phrases to talk about many different things; for example:

I can hardly tell these two wines apart. je||||||| Ich kann diese beiden Weine kaum auseinander halten.

I hated both cities; they're equally terrible. Ich hasste beide Städte; sie sind genauso schrecklich.

Playing golf is just as boring as watching it. Golf spielen ist genauso langweilig wie zuschauen.

Next, you're going to see how to talk about small differences.

Our topic for the next section? Unser Thema für den nächsten Abschnitt?

Sports!

Good game, right? Gutes Spiel, oder?

Yeah, it was.

They played a bit better than last week, I thought. Sie haben etwas besser gespielt als letzte Woche, dachte ich.

Yup.

They were just a little sharper in those key moments. Ils||||||||| |||||mais afiados|||| Sie waren nur ein wenig schärfer in diesen Schlüsselmomenten. Вони просто були трохи гострішими в ті ключові моменти.

I thought the keeper did slightly better, too. |||goleiro|||| Ich fand den Torwart auch etwas besser. Мені здалося, що воротар теж впорався трохи краще.

He wasn't quite as hesitant as he was last week, and you could see the defence looked ||||hesitante|||||||||||| Er war nicht ganz so zögerlich wie letzte Woche, und man konnte sehen, wie die Verteidigung aussah

more solid.

They looked good going forward, too. Ils||||| Sie sahen auch nach vorne gut aus.

They were just a touch faster moving the ball around. ils||||||||| Sie waren nur einen Hauch schneller und bewegten den Ball herum.

True.

They weren't doing that last week. Das haben sie letzte Woche nicht gemacht.

Again, you heard five phrases to talk about small differences. Auch hier haben Sie fünf Sätze gehört, um über kleine Unterschiede zu sprechen.

Can you remember them? Kannst du dich an sie erinnern?

Again, you can review the dialogue and write them down if you want to find them yourself. Auch hier können Sie den Dialog überprüfen und aufschreiben, wenn Sie ihn selbst finden möchten.

When talking about small differences, you can use a modifier plus a comparative adjective |||||||||modifier|||| |||||||||em|||| Wenn Sie über kleine Unterschiede sprechen, können Sie einen Modifikator plus ein vergleichendes Adjektiv verwenden

or adverb, like this:

They played a bit better. Ils|||| Sie spielten etwas besser.

They were just a little sharper. Ils||||| Sie waren nur etwas schärfer.

The keeper did slightly better. Le|||| Etwas besser machte es der Keeper.

They were a touch faster. Ils|||| Sie waren eine Spur schneller.

You can also use quite as… as… to show that two things are slightly different, like Sie können auch ganz als … als … verwenden, um zu zeigen, dass zwei Dinge leicht unterschiedlich sind, wie

this:

He wasn't quite as hesitant as he was last week. Er war nicht ganz so zögerlich wie letzte Woche.

In the dialogue, we were talking about a football match that we both saw, but you can use these Im Dialog haben wir über ein Fußballspiel gesprochen, das wir beide gesehen haben, aber Sie können diese verwenden

phrases and structures to talk about many different topics.

For example:

Taking the train will be a bit faster. Prendre||||||| Mit der Bahn geht es etwas schneller.

She's a little older than her husband. Sie ist etwas älter als ihr Mann.

This isn't quite as spicy as the last time you made it. Das ist nicht ganz so scharf wie beim letzten Mal.

Let's look at one more topic. Schauen wir uns ein weiteres Thema an.

In the next section, we're going to talk about food.

What did you think? Was haben Sie gedacht?

It was tasty, but the dishes didn't vary much. |||mais|les plats|plats||| Es war lecker, aber die Gerichte variierten nicht sehr.

Everything tasted much the same. Tout||||

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Did you try the shrimp? ||||shrimp

Yeah.

That was probably the best, but the main dishes were all pretty similar. ||||||||dishes|||| Das war wahrscheinlich das Beste, aber die Hauptgerichte waren alle ziemlich ähnlich.

Tomato, sweet, slightly spicy… Tomate, süß, leicht scharf…

Maybe we just didn't order the right things.

I don't think it's that. Ich glaube nicht, dass es das ist.

I've been there before, and it was more or less like tonight. |||||là|||||| Ich war schon einmal dort, und es war mehr oder weniger wie heute Abend.

It was a bit disappointing, especially for the price. Es war ein bisschen enttäuschend, vor allem für den Preis.

It was nearly as expensive as that Japanese place we went to for my birthday! Es war fast so teuer wie der japanische Ort, an dem wir an meinem Geburtstag waren!

Yeah, I know.

Let's not go back. Ne retournons||| Gehen wir nicht zurück.

Here, we were talking about a bad restaurant, where everything tasted almost the same.

Of course, talking about close similarities is similar to talking about minor differences. Natürlich ist es ähnlich, über große Ähnlichkeiten zu sprechen, wie über geringfügige Unterschiede zu sprechen.

The only difference is your focus.

If two things are slightly different, you can use different language depending on whether

you want to focus on the differences or on the similarities. vous||||||||||

In this dialogue, you heard five phrases to describe slight similarities. In diesem Dialog haben Sie fünf Sätze gehört, um leichte Ähnlichkeiten zu beschreiben.

Can you remember them?

You heard:

The dishes didn't vary much. Die Speisen variierten nicht sehr.

Everything tasted much the same. Tout||||

The main dishes were all pretty similar. Die Hauptgerichte waren alle ziemlich ähnlich.

It was more or less like tonight. It|||||| Es war mehr oder weniger wie heute Nacht.

It was nearly as expensive as that Japanese place we went to for my birthday.

Of course, you can adapt these phrases to talk about different things; for example:

Apartments here don't vary much. appartamenti|||| Die Wohnungen hier unterscheiden sich nicht sehr.

You can do it today or tomorrow—it's much the same to me. |||||||c'est|||||

A lot of small towns in the UK are pretty similar. Viele kleine Städte in Großbritannien sind ziemlich ähnlich.

There are different versions of rugby, but the basic idea is more or less the same.

My nephew is almost as tall as me now! Mein Neffe ist jetzt fast so groß wie ich!

Now, you should know how to talk about differences and similarities in different ways.

Let's see how you can put everything you've learned together.

Of course, when you're speaking or writing naturally, you don't necessarily want to

talk about only big differences, or only similarities. sprechen nur von großen Unterschieden oder nur von Gemeinsamkeiten.

You may need to use a range of different language. Möglicherweise müssen Sie eine Reihe verschiedener Sprachen verwenden.

You're going to see two longer answers on different topics, using a range of language

from this lesson.

First, let's see an answer comparing two cities: Moscow and St Petersburg: Lassen Sie uns zunächst eine Antwort sehen, die zwei Städte vergleicht: Moskau und St. Petersburg:

If you visit Russia, you should definitely visit both Moscow and St Petersburg.

They're completely different cities. They are|||

St Petersburg feels much more European than Moscow, while Moscow is a bit grittier, but Saint-Pétersbourg|||||||||||||plus brut|

very interesting.

Things like accommodation, food, transport and so on are much the same in both places. ||||||||sont|||||| Dinge wie Unterkunft, Essen, Transport und so weiter sind an beiden Orten ziemlich gleich.

It's slightly easier to find a cheaper place to stay in St Petersburg, but Moscow has a it is||plus facile|||||||||||||possède un| Es ist etwas einfacher, eine günstigere Unterkunft in St. Petersburg zu finden, aber Moskau hat eine

bit more variety when it comes to eating out. etwas mehr Abwechslung beim Essen.

To get around, take the metro, which is just as efficient in both cities. Pour se déplacer||||||che|est|||||| Um herumzukommen, nehmen Sie die U-Bahn, die in beiden Städten genauso effizient ist.

Have you been to Moscow or St Petersburg? Waren Sie schon in Moskau oder St. Petersburg?

What would you add to our description?

You can let us know in the comments!

Let's look at one more longer example.

This time, we're going to compare working at home with working in an office. Diesmal vergleichen wir die Arbeit zu Hause mit der Arbeit in einem Büro.

It's hard to compare working at home and working in an office. Es ist schwer, die Arbeit von zu Hause aus mit der Arbeit in einem Büro zu vergleichen.

People think that working at home would be much more relaxing, but that's not always

true.

You still have to do just as much work, so it can be equally stressful. You|||||||||||||| Sie müssen trotzdem genauso viel arbeiten, und das kann genauso stressig sein.

Of course, you have slightly more freedom to plan your own day, but you also have to Natürlich haben Sie etwas mehr Freiheit, Ihren Tag selbst zu planen, aber Sie müssen auch

be a bit more responsible, because otherwise you end up wasting a lot of time. etwas verantwortungsbewusster sein, weil man sonst viel Zeit verschwendet.

In the end, you save time commuting, but most people waste a little more time, so you spend |||vous||||||gens|gaspiller|||||||

nearly as much time working as if you just went to work. fast so viel Zeit zu arbeiten, als wenn Sie nur zur Arbeit gehen würden.

Can you see how this answer uses different phrases and structures from the lesson to Kannst du erkennen, wie diese Antwort verschiedene Sätze und Strukturen aus der Lektion verwendet, um

compare these two points? diese beiden Punkte vergleichen?

What do you think about this topic? Was denken Sie über dieses Thema?

Would you prefer to work at home, or work in an office? aimerais-tu||||||||||| Möchten Sie lieber zu Hause oder in einem Büro arbeiten?

Let us know in the comments. Lassen Sie es uns in den Kommentaren wissen.

Finally, could you make a longer answer like this? Könnten Sie schließlich eine längere Antwort wie diese geben?

You could compare two cities you've visited, two different cuisines, two people you know, Sie könnten zwei Städte vergleichen, die Sie besucht haben, zwei verschiedene Küchen, zwei Menschen, die Sie kennen,

or something else. oder etwas anderes.

You can use this language to talk about almost anything! Sie können diese Sprache verwenden, um über fast alles zu sprechen!

If you enjoyed this lesson, visit our website for more free English lessons: Oxford Online

English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!