It's a question that pops up more often than you might think, a little linguistic pebble in the shoe of everyday English: when do we 'compare to' something, and when do we 'compare with' it?
For many of us, the distinction feels a bit fuzzy, and honestly, that's understandable. The good news is, you're not alone in wondering, and the rules, while specific, aren't impossibly complex. Think of it less as a rigid law and more as a helpful guide to expressing yourself with a bit more precision.
At its broadest, 'compare' is about looking at things and figuring out how they stack up – what's similar, what's different. In this general sense, both 'to' and 'with' can often work. For instance, if a school is looking at its facilities and seeing how they measure up against other schools in the neighborhood, saying they 'compared their facilities with those of others' feels perfectly natural. Similarly, if researchers are trying to see how their findings align with studies done elsewhere, 'it is difficult to compare our results to studies conducted in the United States' also makes sense. Here, the choice might even lean towards 'to' in American English, while British English is more flexible.
However, the real magic, and the stricter rule, comes into play when we're talking about drawing parallels, about saying one thing is like another, or using one thing as an analogy for something else. This is where 'compare to' becomes the non-negotiable choice.
Imagine a writer whose new novel is so evocative, so rich in its storytelling, that people start saying, 'Her novel was compared to the work of Daniel Defoe.' Here, 'to' is essential because it's not just about listing similarities; it's about saying the novel resembles Defoe's writing in a significant way. It's a direct, almost poetic, likening.
This is beautifully illustrated in that timeless line from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: 'Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?' The poet isn't just assessing the similarities between his beloved and a summer day; he's using the summer day as a benchmark, a point of comparison to highlight the beloved's superior beauty. It's an analogy, a metaphor in the making, and that's precisely why 'to' is used.
Similarly, when someone likens children to young trees, emphasizing their shared potential for growth and shaping, the structure is 'He compared children to young trees.' It's about drawing a likeness, a resemblance.
Now, what about when 'compare' is used as an intransitive verb, meaning it doesn't take a direct object, and we're still evaluating similarities? This is where British English often favors 'with'. If you're discussing someone's achievements and feel they don't quite measure up to another person's, you might say, 'His achievements do not compare with those of A. J. Ayer.' It's a direct, almost evaluative, comparison of standing.
In American English, though, 'compare to' can still pop up even in these situations, sometimes feeling a bit more common. You might hear, 'None of those birds compare to L.A. pigeons,' or 'today’s calamities don't compare to the Great Depression.'
And what about when we use 'compared to' or 'compared with' to introduce a phrase or clause? For instance, 'This was a modest sum compared to what other people spent.' Or, 'Compared to physics and astronomy, cosmology is a young science.' In these introductory uses, both 'to' and 'with' are generally acceptable, though there's a noticeable trend, especially in modern usage, leaning more towards 'to'.
So, the next time you're faced with this choice, take a moment. Are you simply listing differences and similarities, or are you drawing a direct parallel, an analogy? The answer will likely guide you to the right preposition, making your English just a little bit clearer and more nuanced.
