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What is the correct preposition to use after "compare"?

Question
What is the correct preposition to use after compare? — Jhun, Philippines
Answer

As shown in the examples below, compare can be used with two different prepositions: to and with.

  1. His voice has been compared to/with that of Luciano Pavarotti. (=his voice is similar to or as good as Luciano Pavarotti's)
  2. A sprained ankle can be painful, but it doesn't compare to/with a back injury. (=a sprained ankle is not as bad as a back injury)
  3. How does your new job compare to/with the last one? 
  4. Compared to/with Texas weather, the weather in New York is cool. 

But compare can also be used without any preposition, as in these examples:

  1. We compared the two schools carefully before making a decision.
  2. We each did the homework assignment, then we compared answers.
  3. How did the two restaurants compare?

Finally, here is a useful and common idiom with compare that is also worth learning:

  • compare apples and oranges

It is used to warn someone that they are comparing two completely different things that can't be compared in a meaningful way, as in this example:

  • To compare an electric car to a sports car is to compare apples and oranges. 

 

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