Collins Cobuild

Unit 37
Other ways of comparing
Main points
This includes words like: ‘as…as’, ‘the same (as)’ and ‘like’.
You use ‘as…as…’ to compare people or things.
You can also compare people or things by using ‘the same (as)’.
You can also compare people or things by using a link verb and a
phrase beginning with ‘like’.
1
 You  use  ‘as…as…’  to  compare  people  or  things  that  are  similar  in
some way.
You use ‘as’ and an adjective or adverb, followed by ‘as’ and a noun
group, an adverbial, or a clause.
You’re as bad as your sister.
The airport was as crowded as ever.
I am as good as she is.
Let us examine it as carefully as we can.
2
You can make a negative comparison using ‘not as…as…’ or ‘not so…
as…’.
The food wasn’t as good as yesterday.
They are not as clever as they appear to be.

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He is not so old as I thought.
3
You can use the adverbs ‘almost’, ‘just’, ‘nearly’, or ‘quite’ in front of
‘as…as…’.
He was almost as fast as his brother.
Mary was just as pale as before.
She was nearly as tall as he was.
In a negative comparison, you can use ‘not nearly’ or ‘not quite’ before
‘as…as…’.
This is not nearly as complicated as it sounds.
The hotel was not quite as good as they expected.
4
When you want to say that one thing is very similar to something else,
you can use ‘the same as’ followed by a noun group, an adverbial, or a
clause.
Your bag is the same as mine.
I said the same as always.
She looked the same as she did yesterday.
If people or things are very similar or identical, you can also say that
they are ‘the same’.
Teenage fashions are the same all over the world.
The initial stage of learning English is the same for many students.
You can use some adverbs in front of ‘the same as’ or ‘the same’.
almost exactly just
more or less
much nearly roughly virtually
He did exactly the same as John did.

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You two look almost the same.
You can use ‘the same’ in front of a noun group, with or without ‘as’
after the noun group.
They reached almost the same height.
It was painted the same colour as the wall.
5
You can also compare people or things by using a link verb such as
‘be’, ‘feel’, ‘look’, or ‘seem’ and a phrase beginning with ‘like’.
It was like a dream.
He still feels like a child.
He looked like an actor.
The houses seemed like mansions.
You can use some adverbs in front of ‘like’.
a bit
a little
exactly
just
least
less
more
most
quite
rather
somewhat
very
He looks just like a baby.
Of all his children, she was the one most like me.
6
 If  the  noun  group  after  ‘as’  or  ‘like’  in  any  of  these  structures  is  a
pronoun, you use an object pronoun or possessive pronoun.
Jane was as clever as him.
His car is the same as mine.
7
 You  can  also  use  ‘less’  and  ‘least’  to  make  comparisons  with  the
opposite meaning to ‘more’ and ‘most’.
They were less fortunate than us.

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He was the least skilled of the workers.
We see him less frequently than we used to.

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