Comparative and superlative adjectives like bigger than and the most interesting are taught in

almost every EFL textbook, often including quite detailed rules about when to add er or more
and double letters in fatter etc. When students are given realistic tasks like being asked to
compare products, however, missing a t in fatter begins to seem rather irrelevant. Construction
and spelling of comparative and superlative forms is even less important for exam tasks that
demand comparing and contrasting like IELTS Academic Writing Part One, FCE Speaking Part
Two and CPE Writing Part One, and in fact with all of those you could happily go through the
whole task without using a single er or est suffix.
Much more important in all those real tasks are forms such as:
Contrasting linking expressions like but, whereas, though, although, while, on the
other hand, in (complete) contrast and unlike
Similar expressions based on nouns, adjectives and verbs, e.g. differ, difference,
different, contrast, comparison, compare
The opposite, e.g. too, as well, also, in the same way, in a similar way, so do/ did/
is/ was, as do/ did/ is/ was, like, Likewise, in common, resemble, resemblance,
share, similar, similarity and the same
-

Similar determiners, e.g. both, all, neither and none

Phrases for summarising how similar or different things are in general like They are virtually
identical if we look at, They are almost exactly the same in terms of, There are more
similarities than differences, They are really quite different because and One of the few
similarities/ differences is
Phrases for organising descriptions of similarities and differences such as The most striking/
most obvious/ most important/ most apparent/ only/ main similarity/ difference is and Another/
An additional (more subtle) similarity/ difference is
Longer phrases to give more information about how much heavier etc things are, such as far/
much bigger, substantially more important, and slightly more rapidly
-

Similar comparing phrases such as (far/ slightly) less and (not) (nearly/ quite) asas

Once youve expanded the point of comparing and contrasting in this way, it also opens up the
chance of using this language for vital classroom topics like finding things in common (good for
classroom dynamics), comparing self-study and communication tactics tips (for learner training),
comparing finished written work, discussing cultural differences, teaching synonyms, and
explaining differences between similar words and expressions.
Typical student problems with the language of comparing and contrasting include:
-

Using more +adjective + er (more bigger etc), usually to mean much + adjective + er

Using On the other hand where a more general phrase like However would be more
suitable
-

Using On the contrary when they mean In contrast

Confusing similar and the same

Missing the and/ or as in the expression the same as

Overusing the same few expressions such as but

Doubling up expressions, e.g. Although he is my friend but

Formality confusions such as using But at the beginning of sentences in formal reports and
choosing the wrong one of pairs like a bit bigger/ slightly bigger and much much bigger/ far
bigger
Confusing comparing and compared in sentences like Compared to my experience,
and Comparing our two experiences,
Things that students need to know include:
Although most contrasting phrases like On the other hand can be replaced with However,
the reverse is usually not true, with ,but being the only expression that can always replace
However,
The next most general expression is ,whereas, but unlike However and but the
subject must change, making I like milk whereas I dont like cheese wrong.
On the contrary means that the previous thing was in fact not true, making I think its a
good idea. On the contrary, my boss is against it incorrect.
In contrast is only used for big contrasts, meaning It didnt rain in the morning. In contrast,
it rained in the afternoon is strange and It didnt rain at all last year. In contrast, the year before
was the wettest on record is much more natural.
Starting a sentence with But is usually informal or used for a particular rhetorical purpose.
For most of students writing purposes, but should only be used to join two ideas in one sentence,
often after a comma.
On the other hand is only used when working towards a conclusion such as choosing
between two options (demonstrable with the gesture of raising one hand then the other then
weighing up the two things).
Presenting the language of comparing and contrasting
Even students who have been using On the contrary in the wrong way for years and have never
come across much/ substantially/ a little + more before can usually quickly work out the rules
with some good examples and guided discovery activities.
My favourite activity is getting students to put similar expressions together in order, e.g. putting
far far/ much much better, far/ much/ a lot/ a great deal better, considerably/ substantially
better, quite a lot better, somewhat better, a little/ a bit/ slightly better, very slightly better
and a tiny bit better together in that order.
Other things they can classify and rank include:
Absolutely identical/ Exactly the same
Practically the same/ Basically the same/ Almost the same/ Nearly the same/ Almost identical/ Only
slightly different
Very similar/ More or less the same
Really quite similar
Quite similar/ Fairly similar
Really quite different
Very different

Completely different/ Totally different

An absolutely huge difference
A huge difference
A big difference/ A great difference
A substantial difference
A slight difference/ A small difference
A tiny difference
An absolutely tiny difference
You can also take a TBL (Task-Based Learning) or TTT (Test Teach Test) approach, doing one of
the practice activities below and then presenting or eliciting language they needed to do it well. I
also often use my own variation URA (Use Recall Analyse), in which they do one of the tasks
below with suggested phrases, try to remember those phrases afterwards, then try to work out rules
for using them.
For students who need more input, you can get them to make their own comparisons between things
(e.g. comparing two cities), compare their ideas to those in a listening or reading text, then analyse
the meanings of the phrases which are used there.
Practice activities for comparing and contrasting
Students can be asked to compare almost anything to tie in with the language point of the week, for
example:
-

The past and present

The past and (likely) future

Things (transport, infrastructure, lifestyles, etc) in two places

Jobs

Genders

Generations

Famous people

Their weeks or weekends

Their routines

Products

Holidays

Ways of learning languages

Their writing

Their exam tactics

The nicest thing to get them to compare is themselves, for example asking students to find
similarities and differences between their experiences, routines, weeks, weekends, previous studies
of English or use of English outside the classroom. To make them use a good range of language,
you could ask them to find out and report back to the class how similar or different they are in

general in that way (e.g. Our diets are fairly similar), then tell the class some examples of
similarities and/ or differences to illustrate that (e.g. I eat much more chocolate than Giorgio).
Another good way of boosting the level of language that they use when they compare their lives and
experiences is to give them phrases that they must use to report back similarities and differences
between them, e.g. Neither of us__________ and One of us _______________________. In
contrast, __________________________. This activity can also be used with other topics, e.g.
getting them to make sentences about different genres of business writing such as memos and
(external) emails with On the other hand, slightly ____________ er, etc.
A good topic for these kinds of personalised comparing and contrasting tasks is their studies and use
of English, so that they can share language learning tips with each other. They can also find
similarities and differences between their tactics after doing a task, e.g. how long they spent reading
through a text first or how long the introductions to their writing were.
They can also use this language to talk about differences between words and expressions you give
them. For example, give them a list of pairs of words and expressions, some of which are synonyms
(stockholder/ shareholder etc) and others of which are common confusions (pavement/
path etc). They discuss how different or similar the words and expressions are (e.g. They are
slightly different), then what the differences might be (The most important difference is etc).
They might need examples of the words and expressions in context to help their discussion.
Although it can get confusing, this activity can also be done with comparing and contrasting
language also being the language point they are looking at for double practice of this point, e.g.
On the other hand and On the contrary are really different.
Comparing phrases can also be used describe things, for example in a guessing game. One student
chooses a word and tries to explain it without mentioning the word by choosing similar things and
describing the differences until their partner guesses, e.g. describing crumble as Something like
a pie, but softer on top and easier to make. As with this example, describing things through
comparisons can also be useful for both describing their own culture and understanding other
peoples, e.g. writing or reading that Korean sashimi is really similar to Japanese sashimi but the
sauce is sourer and much spicier than soy sauce or that Like stout, ale is usually darker and more
bitter than lager. It is traditionally served slightly warmer.
Students can also do the opposite thing, being given two things and trying to guess what
comparison between them their partner was thinking of or has written down.
As mentioned above, comparing and contrasting comes up in FCE and CAE Speaking Part Two, in
which students compare and contrast two photos and then answer another question on them, e.g.
The two photos show beach sports. Compare and contrast the two pictures, and say which one
would be more popular on beaches you have been to. This is an extended speaking task for one
student in the exams, but in class students can take turns trying to find more and more similarities
and differences between the two things or places shown. This can be changed into more of a game
by allowing one of the students to choose if they want to come up with similarities or differences,
then seeing if they or the student who must come up with the other side runs out of ideas first.
These tasks can also be done with just names of things that they must compare (e.g. Paris and
London) rather than pictures.
You can also give students discussion questions to prompt comparing and contrasting. Possible
prompts include:
- Do you prefer to? (Why do you feel that way?)
- Have youmany? (Which one did you like best? How was it better than the others?)
- How do you thinkwill be different inyears time?/ How do you picturein the year?
(How will it be different from now?)
- How do you thinkwould change?

- How doescompare to?

- How is different from how it wasyears ago?
- How isin your country/ hometown different to other places you have been or know about?
(How do you feel about those differences?)
- In your opinion, is(in your country) getting better or worse? (What evidence do you have for
that point of view?)/ Do you feelis improving? (In which ways?)
- What is/ was your favourite? (Why do/ did you like it better than the others?)
- Where did you last? (How does it compare to other you have?)
You can bring loads of this language into a variation of what I call Random Pelmanism. A collection
of words and expressions without any obvious connection, e.g. thing you want to revise, are
photocopied and cut up to make one pack of cards per group of two to four students. These cards
are spread across a table face down. One student turns over two cards and must say at least one
similarity and one difference between the two things plus a statement of how or similar they are in
general, e.g. Antarctica and Belgium are almost completely different, for example in their weather,
but neither of them are well known for their wine if they turn over the cards with Antarctica and
Belgium on them. If they cant think of any comparison or their partners can show that the
statements they make arent true, they have to put the cards back where they came from face down
and play passes to the next person.
For writing tasks, IELTS Academic Writing Part One asks students to Select and summarise the
information given [in the map, graph, chart or table], comparing and contrasting where suitable
(with where suitable actually meaning almost always). Essay questions where students need to
weigh up two options can also use this language, with the more common format of weighing up
advantages and disadvantages of one thing being much less useful for this language point than you
might think. The CPE task where the ideas from two texts are compared and contrasted also bring
less of this language up than you might expect, but students who are struggling to bring complex
language into their essays could benefit from being pushed to compare and contrast more. The new
CAE essay question from 2014 looks more useful for comparing and contrasting practice.
I have also adapted the Use of English exercises from the Cambridge exams for this language point
to do controlled written practice of comparing and contrasting language. Open cloze, multiple
choice cloze and key word sentence transformations are all possible and useful. I found the most
useful to be word formation exercises where they learn to use other forms of words that they are
more familiar with, for example converting the easy word compare to the more complex one
comparison and similar to dissimilar in tasks like ____________ to what it was like last
year, it is quite pleasant now - COMPARE.
You can combine speaking and writing with an activity which I call Discuss and Agree. Students try
to agree on comparisons using the phrases given and then write the finished sentences down, e.g.
agreeing and writing down that Tokyo is far uglier than Kyoto to use the phrase far er. They
can then see if other groups agree with their sentences, changing any which they become convinced
are wrong.
Students can also do the writing first and the speaking later with a game that I often use called the
Sentence Completion Guessing Game. Students work on their own to fill in sentences like is
slightly more than and and have a lot in common, for example They then read out
just the part that they have written (not the sentence stems that were given on the worksheet), and
their partner guesses the whole sentence by trying to work out which sentence stem they put those
words into, e.g. guessing that London/ New York/ are good places to live goes with Neither
nor

There is also a purely speaking version of this game where students give examples of things that
they would compare with one phrase, e.g. a list of pairs of things that are slightly more expensive
than each other, without saying the comparison phrase they are thinking of. They give more and
more examples until their partners guess the comparison that they are making. They can then
discuss whether they think the comparisons are correct for those examples or not.
Another activity that involves writing first and then speaking later is Comparisons Bluff. Students
write a mix of true and false comparisons using the phrases given, e.g. A striking difference
between New York and London is the colour of the taxis and The only difference between red
grapes and white grapes is when they are picked. Students will need suggested topics and maybe
access to the Internet to research information to put in their sentences.
Students can also work together to write down anything at all or as many things as possible that
match the comparison given in a kind of Comparing and Contrasting Brainstorming Challenge, e.g.
trying to think of lists of things that are very similar to apples, The most important differences
between apples and pears, or Less obvious differences between an apple and a mandarin. This
can also be done the other way round, with students being given two things to compare and trying
to use as many of the phrases that they are given as possible to do so. The team which says that they
have used the greatest number of phrases reads out their sentences until another group successfully
argues that one of their sentences isnt accurate or they get through the whole list. If they arent
successful, the group which claims to have used the next biggest number of phrases does the same,
working through the groups until one team manages to get through all their sentences without
another group successfully arguing that one of them isnt accurate.
Despite the name of the activity, traditional Picture Difference information gap tasks dont produce
a lot of this kind of language. However, you can easily adapt the task by giving students a range of
pictures to compare and asking them to decide generally how similar or different each pair of
pictures are (A1 and B1 are almost the same etc), and then some examples of differences and
similarities The most striking difference is etc) without looking at each others worksheets. Its
probably best if they write these sentences down. They can then look at all the pictures and change
any statements which they now think are wrong.
You can also adapt traditional shopping roleplays to include this language, simply by adding a piece
of paper and a pencil. A student comes into the shop and asks for something, e.g. a hat, and tries to
use as many of comparing and contrasting phrases as they can to explain what is wrong with the
hats that they are offered, with the shop assistant drawing the hats that they are offering the
customer each time on the paper. The conversation continues until the shopper has to admit that the
item matches what they are saying (they arent allowed to change their mind) or the shop assistant
gives up.
You can also do a Picture Dictation in a similar way. The student who is describing their picture is
allowed to see what their partner is drawing and can give hints with comparing and contrasting
language until the picture is correct. To include as much of this language as possible, they should be
forced to describe each time how similar or different the drawing is to their picture (e.g. Its fairly
similar), which difference they are describing (but the most important difference is) and what
is different (the nose is much much shorter in my picture) to help their partner correct it.