A person compares the qualities of two things or two groups of things. Comparing almost always involves the number two; however, sometimes you will hear the word "compare" used when discussing the qualities of more than two things.
Tom compared two schools and chose the one that was closer to his house.
Compared to other cities in the United States, New York is actually very safe and livable.
Rhonda always compares prices among the stores she visits to buy groceries.
Those two places don’t even compare. (One is clearly much better than the other.)
Compared to gold jewelry, silver jewelry is much cheaper.
Compared to a cat, a dog is much friendlier and easier to train.
Sometimes when using the word "compare," a person suggests that there are some similarities.
Lisa compares her father to a dictator. She says they both enforce strict rules.
Henry was compared unfavorably to a dog.
Someone in our class compared the teacher to a large rock.
Valerie is so beautiful. She is often compared to Jennifer Lopez.
The word "comparison" is a noun.
That’s a very good comparison.
The comparison made between the two novels was very helpful for the students.
Comparison shopping is essential if you are a careful shopper. (comparison shopping = visiting more than one store to compare prices and quality)
The word "comparative" is an adjective:
The word "better" is a comparative adjective and a comparative adverb for the word "good."
Some countries in Europe have a comparative advantage over other European countries because they have stronger productivity.
