Comparisons 3: Similarities.

When we compare things, we do not just talk about their differences. What else do we talk about? Which structures would we use to do this?


Comparative adjectives (like bigger or more beautiful) and words of contrast (such as but, whereas and while) are used to describe the differences between things. If you want to talk about similarities you need to use other structures.

1. Look at the table below

Activities Places Animals
 Things
play tennis/golf Japan/USA  lion/tiger  train/plane
watch TV/movie at cinema  Hachioji/Shinjuku shark/dolphin J-pop/enka
eat spaghetti/steak Mt. Fuji/Mt. Everest cat/dog  university/j.h.s.
 
2. Now look at some sample sentences comparing the pairs in the first row.

Golf is a sport and so is tennis. Playing tennis is popular in Japan, as is playing golf.
Golf is as easy to learn as tennis.
Neither tennis nor golf are team sports.
Japan is an advanced country and so is the USA.
The USA imports lots of oil, as does Japan.
Japanese baseball players are as good as American ones.
Neither Japan nor America are European nations.
Tigers eat meat and so do lions.
Lions can be very dangerous, as can tigers.
A lion is as powerful as a tiger.
Tigers are not found in Australia and neither are lions.
Both planes and trains are efficient methods of transportation.
Trains and planes can both be used to carry people or goods.
A shinkansen is almost as fast as a plane.
Neither trains nor planes were around in the 18th century.

Task 1
There are five basic structures used in the examples above. What are they? Look carefully at them. Compare your ideas with a partner. When you have identified all five of them, Click Here to see the answer.

Task 2
Now try and make up some sentences comparing the similarities in the pairs in the second and third rows of the table above.
For more practice try to compare the similarities in the pairs in the table below.

Activities
 Places
 Animals
 Things
Eat fish/eat meat  City/country Giraffe/zebra Eraser/pencil
Feeding baby/dog Hokkaido/Okinawa Sheep/goat Skirt/trousers
Going to sea/ mountains Tokyo/Manhattan Rabbit/mouse Chocolate/candy
Basketball/soccer Disneyland/Universal studios Cow/horse Paper/electronic dictionary
Running/ walking
 Arctic/Antarctic   Snake/worm Spoon/fork
Studying/working
 Paris/London Bat/eagle Letter/email
Bowling/karaoke
 Osaka/Tokyo Panda/koala Tea/coffee
novel/newspaper
 Library/home study Fox/wolf Sports car/family car
Piano/guitar
  Korea/USA  Tuna/sardine War/peace
Singing/dancing
 Zoo/amusement park Hamster/cat Kabuki/Noh
Have bath/shower
 Himeji jo/Osaka jo Pigeon/hawk Sokadai/Todai
Reading/listening
 Apartment/house Monkey/man English/Latin

Task 3
Find a partner. Pick one of the pairs above. Your partner must compare them. Change and compare the pair your partner chooses.
Do this 10 times each.

 Task 4
Change partners and do this again. This time make two comparisons for the pair your partner selects.

Task 5
Record yourself using Soft Recorder. Speak for 45 seconds on the topic
Which do you prefer, having a bath or having a shower? Why?

Task 6
Record yourself using Soft Recorder. Speak for 45 seconds on the topic
Do you prefer to take essay-type exams or multiple choice exams? Why?
Send the file to me

Send the file to me

 
Now you can move on to the next unit