How to Compare and Contrast: Phrases, Connectors and Idioms

- A key skill you need in IELTS Speaking is being able

to compare and contrast things,

places, people,

and activities, and ideas.

(laughing)

It can be quite complicated, but I'm gonna make it

super easy for you, let's do it.

(upbeat instrumental music)

Hi, this is Keith and I run the website,

the Keith Speaking Academy,

and also the YouTube channel here,

English Speaking Success.

Now, comparing and contrasting.

You know, in IELTS Speaking part one, you may be asked

to directly compare two things, A and B right?

For example, traveling by car and traveling by plane.

In path three of Speaking, you will probably need to compare

more abstract ideas, like the past and the future,

or the future and the present.

You may also have to compare opinions you've given,

or examples that you've shown.

In this lesson, I'm gonna show you

how to do that confidently.

Let's begin first of all, talking about comparing,

and we're gonna discuss how we compare people, places,

activities, and things, okay?

A common question though, students ask, is,

what exactly is the difference between compare and contrast?

Well, it's a good question, right?

Comparing generally means

finding the similarities between two things, right?

I compare you to a summer's day,

it means I liken you to a summer's day,

I'm making you similar to a summer's day, very poetic.

Contrasting though,

is finding the differences between things.

So, let's focus first of all on comparing, right?

Now, the easiest way here to do this

is to use the expression A is similar to B.

In context, we may also say, A is similar to B,

because (babbling).

Or, A is similar to B, in that (babbling).

For example, if we're talking about places, right,

let's say London and Paris,

London is similar to Paris,

because they are both capital cities, right?

London is similar to Paris,

in that they are both

capital cities, okay?

Notice, is similar to, the to becomes a tuh,

because we're stressing the nouns.

London is similar, stress similar as well.

London is similar to Paris,

Paris is similar to London,

because we're stressing the nouns and the adjectives.

London is similar to Paris, to Paris.

Try, London is similar to Paris.

Nice, London is similar to Paris

because they are both capital cities.

Very nice. Good.

You've got that nice cadence, lovely.

Remember also we can be using adverbs, right,

to quantify how similar, is it very similar,

or just a little similar, right?

London is really similar, or it's pretty similar.

It's rather similar, it's quite similar to Paris.

Adverbs really add

some extra richness to your answers.

Another way to express similarity is to mention

both A and B first, and then give

a kind of summarizing phrase, right?

So, if for example, we're comparing cars,

and brands of cars, we could say, right,

when it comes to cars, two of the most famous brands

in the world are Audi and BMW,

and they are so alike, or,

and they are pretty much alike, or,

and they have a lot in common, or,

and they are really similar.

In addition, we can also use this structure

to show likeness.

A is as blah-blah-blah as B.

Blah-blah-blah (laughing).

A is as mmmh as B,

and the as becomes uhs.

For example, an Audi

is as reliable as a BMW.

As reliable as.

Say that, as reliable as.

An Audi is as reliable as a BMW.

Nice.

Paris is as big as London.

John is as tall as Michael.

Fantastic, remember as well, we can also put

those adverbs in, to show how much

they are similar, right, or not.

Paris is almost as big as London.

John is nearly as tall as Michael,

okay, again, adverbs adding richness to your language.

Finally, if the two things are actually not similar,

but actually (laughing),

lot of 'actuallies'.

Finally, if the two things are not only similar,

but actually the same, we could say

A is identical to B.

A is identical to B,

or A is the same as B.

Same as, same as.

A is the same as B.

So, for example, if we're talking about people,

let's say Jack is identical to his father,

they both love football.

Jack is the same as his father, they both love football.

Another common phrase is just like,

Jack is just like his father.

Just like his father.

Or, if they actually look the same, physical appearance,

right, a nice expression is

Jack is the spitting image of his father.

The spitting image or the spitting image,

if you have Southern English pronunciation.

Jack is the spitting image of his father,

the spitting image of his father.

They look just the same.

Did you know, I am actually the spitting image of my father?

(chuckling)

Great, let's move on.

Wonderful.

So, we've looked at comparing,

now let's look at contrasting.

Again, we're gonna be looking at how we contrast places,

people, things, right?

So, probably the most straightforward and the simplest way

is to say A is different from B.

Notice, different from, right?

We had similar to, different from.

A is different from B.

A is different from B because (babbling).

Or A is different from B, in that it (babbling), right?

For example, let's talk about my hometown Manchester,

and let's say Paris in France, right?

We could say Manchester is different from Paris,

because it's much more industrial, or,

Manchester is different from Paris, in that

the climate is colder than Paris.

You can omit the last "than Paris," if you want,

but if you want to put it together, it's colder,

the climate is colder than Paris, you could also put it.

So, Manchester is different from Paris,

in that the climate is colder.

Nice.

And do remember, again, you can add adverbs, right,

to show the intensity of the difference, right?

Manchester is really different from Paris,

or Manchester is totally different from Paris.

If you want to impress the examiner,

I think it's strikingly different,

or, I think it's distinctly different actually.

If the difference is small you can say,

well, it's slightly different,

it's rather different, it's subtly different.

That's nice.

Manchester is subtly different from Paris,

in that the climate is slightly colder.

I love adverbs, they're great (laughing).

Okay, let's move on.

Right now in this next section, I'm gonna stick

with contrasting, but we're gonna look at

some idiomatic expressions to use,

to show contrast.

So again, if we're talking about two things, or people,

or places, we can use all of these.

For example, we may say, well, they are worlds apart, right,

London and New Delhi, they are worlds apart.

Now it doesn't mean they're on the opposite side

of the world, it just means they're very different.

So, I could say, Manchester and London are worlds apart,

or, they are poles apart, the pole being the north pole,

and the south pole of the planet.

They are poles apart, right?

My brother and my sister they're poles apart.

Completely different, like chalk and cheese.

Chalk and cheese is only used for people, right,

my brother and sister, they're like chalk and cheese,

very different.

Another expression is

A is a far cry from B, right?

Manchester is a far cry from Paris, they're very different,

in that, and then you give the reason why.

Another one, A is in a different league from B.

Manchester United are in a different league

from Real Madrid (laughing), are they?

You're gonna say, "Of course they are Keith,

"one's in the Premier League, one's in the (babbling)."

The what (laughing)?

I'm not a football fan, I mean, one's in the Premiere League

and one's in the Spanish league, no, it's idiomatic,

it just means they're different, right?

I could talk about two authors, right,

Stephen King is much better than Enid Blyton.

Stephen King is in a different league from Enid Blyton.

For example.

Also we can just use far or way.

A is far, blank, than B,

or A is way, blank, than B, right?

Stephen King is far better than Enid Blyton.

Manchester United are way better

than Real Madrid.

Don't tell the people in Spain I said that.

It's actually not true, well, is it true?

Now, it's probably not true, right?

Anyway, some interesting idiomatic expressions

you can use for contrasting things that are very different.

Let's move on.

Now, we have looked at comparing and contrasting things,

places, people, now, I want to look at

connectors and linking words, that can be used

to compare and contrast ideas, and that can be

really useful in part three of IELTS Speaking, right?

So, we can look at, for example, to compare,

similarly and likewise.

For example, I love football, similarly,

I'm a big fan of basketball too.

Or, I love Chinese food, likewise,

I'm really into Vietnamese food too.

When it comes to contrasting, we can use on the contrary,

conversely, on the other hand.

For example, I'm really busy during the week,

but on the weekend, conversely., I have lots of free time.

Notice here in speaking, the word order

is often a little different from writing, right?

When speaking, we often have the first noun,

the second noun, and then the adverb,

and then the sentence, right?

Notice I said, I'm really busy during the week,

it's the first noun, but on the weekend,

it's the second noun, conversely, adverb,

I have lots of free time.

So that noun, noun, adverb, and then the end of the phrase.

Look at the other examples.

Well, I'm really busy on Mondays,

Fridays on the contrary are much easier.

Can you see?

I'm busy this week actually, next week on the other hand,

I have much less work to do, right?

Can you see that pattern, that is much more

a speaking pattern rather than a writing one.

That's it, interesting and beautiful ways

to compare and contrast people,

places, things, and ideas,

in fact, anything you want at all (laughing).

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Take care my friend. Bye-bye.

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