Compare, contrast, and express preferences with confidence
Without looking at any notes, try to complete these sentences. Don't worry about mistakes — just write what feels right.
1. Tokyo is __________ London. (population)
2. Working from home __________ working in an office. (advantages)
3. Write 3 different ways to say "A is better than B":
Adults comparing things in English often get stuck in one pattern: "X is more [adjective] than Y." That works — but it makes you sound repetitive. Real fluent speakers use at least 6 different structures to compare things.
Think about how often you compare at work and in life: recommending restaurants, choosing holidays, comparing products, evaluating options in meetings, explaining why you prefer one thing over another.
We'll take these in two groups of three. Learn one, try it, then move on.
Trains are faster than buses.
This project is more complex than the last one.
The second option is less expensive than the first.
Monday mornings are less productive than Tuesday mornings.
Equal: Rome is as beautiful as Paris.
Not equal: Buses are not as fast as trains. (= trains are faster)
Quick check — cover the cards above. Which structure would you use for each situation?
a) Saying two things are equal →
b) Saying A is worse than B (politely) →
c) Direct comparison where A wins →
a) as [adj] as — "Rome is as beautiful as Paris"
b) less [adj] than or not as [adj] as — both soften the negative comparison
c) [comparative] + than — "Trains are faster than buses"
This phone is slightly cheaper than that one.
Living in London is far more expensive than living in Lisbon.
His salary is the same as mine.
Their approach is completely different from ours.
Tokyo has more people than London. (countable → more/fewer)
This job offers less flexibility than my old one. (uncountable → more/less)
We have fewer meetings on Fridays. (countable → fewer, NOT less)
I do → We do → You do. Let's build sentences step by step.
Step 1 — Direct comparison: "Cities are much more exciting than the countryside."
Step 2 — Flip with "not as...as": "The countryside is not as noisy as the city."
Step 3 — Add precision: "The countryside is slightly cheaper than most cities."
Step 4 — Quantity comparison: "Cities have far more restaurants than small towns."
Notice: 4 sentences, 4 different structures. That's the goal — variety.
Topic: Compare two ways of learning English — in a classroom vs. with a private teacher.
Step 1 — Use structure 1 (comparative + than). What's one difference?
"Private lessons are more flexible than classroom lessons." — Now, can you try a different adjective?
Step 2 — Use structure 3 (not as...as). Flip a comparison.
"Classroom lessons are not as personalised as private lessons." — Notice how this says the same thing more diplomatically.
Step 3 — Use structure 4 (modifier + comparative). Add precision to a comparison.
"Private lessons are a lot more expensive than group classes." — The modifier "a lot" tells us HOW MUCH more expensive. That's precision.
Step 4 — Use structure 6 (more/fewer + noun). Compare quantities.
"Classrooms have fewer opportunities to speak than private lessons." — Fewer because "opportunities" is countable.
Topic: Compare two holidays you've had (or two holidays you'd like to take).
Write 4 sentences, each using a DIFFERENT comparison structure. No looking back at the structures!
These questions mix ALL the structures. You need to choose the right one each time — that's the real skill.
1. Your colleague says: "I think meetings and emails waste the same amount of time." You disagree — meetings waste MORE time. Respond politely:
Options: "Actually, I think meetings are far more time-consuming than emails." or "I'd say emails are not as wasteful as meetings." — Both work! The second is more diplomatic.
2. Complete with the right modifier. The difference between these two phones is tiny — only €20:
"This phone is than that one."
3. Complete: "This year we have __________ (few/less) clients but __________ (few/less) stress."
"This year we have fewer clients but less stress." — Clients = countable (fewer), stress = uncountable (less).
4. Find and fix the error: "My new job is more better and I have less problems than before."
"My new job is better and I have fewer problems than before." — Two errors: "more better" → doubling (better is already comparative), "less problems" → problems is countable (fewer).
5. Your friend's cooking isn't great. Rephrase this honestly but politely: "Your cooking is worse than the restaurant."
"Your cooking is not as good as the restaurant's." or "The restaurant's food is slightly better than yours." — "Not as...as" and "slightly" both soften the blow. This is a real social skill!
6. Compare your current home with the home you grew up in. Write 3 sentences using 3 different structures:
Teacher: Check for 3 distinct structures (not the same one repeated). Listen for: modifier use, fewer/less accuracy, and natural word order. Ask: "Which structure felt most natural? Which was hardest?"
Teaching something is the best way to learn it. Now explain what you've learned in your own words.
Explain to an imaginary student: "When do I use -er and when do I use more?"
Explain the difference between these two sentences. When would you use each one?
A: "This restaurant is cheaper than that one."
B: "That restaurant is not as cheap as this one."
They mean the same thing — but the tone is different. Sentence A focuses on the CHEAPER restaurant. Sentence B focuses on the MORE EXPENSIVE restaurant and softens the comparison. "Not as cheap as" sounds more diplomatic than "more expensive than." This matters when you're being polite or diplomatic at work.
Look at these two sentences. Which one is more useful in real life? Why?
A: "Amsterdam is more expensive than Lisbon."
B: "Amsterdam is significantly more expensive than Lisbon."
Sentence B is more useful because it tells you HOW MUCH more expensive. In real life, that's what matters — "Is it a little more or a lot more?" Without the modifier, you don't know if Amsterdam costs 5% more or 200% more. Precision makes your English more informative.
Write 6 original sentences — one for each structure. Use topics from YOUR life (work, home, hobbies, travel).
Choose 2-3 topics. Speak for at least 2 minutes on each, using as many different comparison structures as you can. No notes!
Compare two jobs you've had (or would like to have). Which was better and why?
Compare two cities you know well. Where would you rather live?
Compare daily life 20 years ago with daily life now. What's better? What's worse?
Compare two ways of learning something (online vs classroom, books vs videos, etc.)
Compare where you live now with where you lived as a child.
Compare any two things you feel strongly about. Convince your teacher!
These items come from previous lessons. Let's see what you still remember — this is how we fight the forgetting curve.
Without looking back — write 3 different ways to introduce your opinion in English:
Examples: "In my opinion...", "I'd say that...", "From my perspective...", "As far as I'm concerned...", "I tend to think that...", "Personally, I believe..."
How many did you remember? These combine naturally with comparison language: "In my opinion, working from home is far more productive than working in an office."
Complete this sentence using a reason/cause connector:
"I prefer trains to planes __________ they're more relaxing."
because / since / as — all work here. Notice how comparison ("more relaxing") naturally follows a reason connector. These structures work together.
Combine comparison language + opinion + reason in one response:
"Do you prefer eating at home or eating at restaurants?"
"Personally, I'd say eating at home is much more relaxing than eating out, because you don't have to worry about the bill or the noise. Having said that, restaurants are not as much work as cooking at home."
Opinion + comparison + modifier + reason + a second comparison. This is the target: combining structures fluently.
Note for Malcolm: Replace the recall items above with specific content from the student's previous lessons. Use optimal spacing: +3, +7, and +14 lessons back.
Close everything. No looking back. Let's see what stuck.
Just the patterns — you don't need full sentences yet.
1. [comparative] + than
2. less + [adjective] + than
3. (not) as + [adjective] + as
4. modifier + comparative + than
5. the same as / different from
6. more/fewer/less + [noun] + than
How many did you get? Check your list — did you miss any?
Small: slightly, a bit, a little
Big: much, far, a lot
fewer = countable nouns (fewer people, fewer meetings, fewer problems)
less = uncountable nouns (less time, less money, less stress)
Write 3 sentences comparing your life now with your life 5 years ago. Use 3 different structures:
Which of the 6 structures is hardest for you? Why do you think that is?
What activity in today's lesson helped you learn most?
Future Recall: These 6 structures should reappear in lessons +3, +7, +14, and +21 from today.