Comparisons seem simple.
This car is faster than that car.
Easy enough.
But the SAT can make comparisons much trickier by giving you sentences that accidentally compare two different kinds of things.
A person might get compared to a book. A city’s population might get compared to another city. Or a sentence might use less when it really needs fewer.
These mistakes are called faulty comparisons.
Fortunately, there’s one big idea that can help you catch most of them:
When you compare two things, make sure you’re actually comparing the same type of thing.
Let’s see how it works.
Compare People With People and Things With Things
A comparison should be logical.
If you start by talking about a person’s work, for example, you should compare that work with another person’s work, not with the other person.
Incorrect:
Maya’s paintings are more colorful than Elena.
What’s being compared?
- Maya’s paintings
- Elena
That’s paintings versus a person.
A better version would be:
Maya’s paintings are more colorful than Elena’s paintings.
Now we’re comparing paintings with paintings.
We can even shorten it:
Maya’s paintings are more colorful than Elena’s.
The word paintings is understood.
Watch Out for Hidden Faulty Comparisons
The SAT may make these mistakes harder to notice by using longer sentences.
Incorrect:
The climate of Florida is warmer than New York.
At first, that might sound perfectly normal.
But look at what’s actually being compared:
- the climate of Florida
- New York
That’s a climate versus a state.
Instead, we need to compare climate with climate:
The climate of Florida is warmer than the climate of New York.
Or more naturally:
Florida’s climate is warmer than New York’s.
Don’t just ask whether a comparison sounds normal. Ask exactly what is being compared.
Singular Comparisons Should Stay Logical
When comparing one individual thing with another individual thing, make sure the sentence doesn’t accidentally compare that one thing with an entire group.
Incorrect:
Mount Rainier is taller than the mountains in Pennsylvania.
This could technically mean Mount Rainier is taller than the Pennsylvania mountains collectively, which isn’t the comparison we’re trying to make.
A clearer version would be:
Mount Rainier is taller than any mountain in Pennsylvania.
Now we’re comparing:
- one mountain
- another individual mountain
That’s a logical comparison.
Plural Comparisons Need to Match Too
The same idea applies when you’re comparing groups.
Example:
The restaurants in this neighborhood stay open later than those in the neighboring town.
The word those stands for:
restaurants
So we’re comparing:
- restaurants in one neighborhood
- restaurants in another town
That works.
Without a word like those, the sentence could accidentally compare restaurants with a town.
“Than” vs. “Then”
These two words look similar, but they have completely different jobs.
Use than when making a comparison.
Example:
This year’s festival attracted more visitors than last year’s festival.
Use then when talking about time or what happens next.
Example:
We ate dinner and then went to the concert.
A quick way to remember it:
Than = comparison
Then = time or sequence
“Fewer” vs. “Less”
This is another comparison rule worth knowing for the SAT.
Use fewer with things you can count individually.
Examples:
fewer students
fewer books
fewer mistakes
You can count students, books, and mistakes.
Use less with things that aren’t normally counted individually.
Examples:
less water
less traffic
less time
You don’t normally say “three waters” or “four traffics.”
So:
Fewer = things you can count
Less = things you measure as an amount
“Many” vs. “Much”
The same countable-versus-uncountable idea applies here.
Use many with things you can count.
many students
many experiments
many opportunities
Use much with things treated as an amount.
much research
much information
much time
You might have many assignments, but you probably have much homework.
The meaning is similar, but the grammar is different.
“Number” vs. “Amount”
Here’s one more version of the same idea.
Use number with countable things.
the number of students
the number of books
the number of errors
Use amount with things that are treated as a quantity or mass.
the amount of water
the amount of energy
the amount of information
Again, ask yourself:
Can I count these things individually?
If yes, words like number, many, and fewer are usually appropriate.
If you’re dealing with an overall quantity, words like amount, much, and less are usually better.
The Best SAT Strategy: Identify Both Sides
When you encounter a comparison on the SAT, find the two things being compared.
Suppose you see:
The novels of Author A are more popular than Author B.
Strip away everything else.
You’re left with:
novels vs. author
That’s your problem.
You want:
novels vs. novels
So the sentence could become:
The novels of Author A are more popular than those of Author B.
The word those replaces “novels” and creates a logical comparison.
If you’re unsure about a comparison, identify the two sides. They should match logically.
Final Thoughts
Faulty comparison questions aren’t really about complicated grammar.
They’re about logic.
When the SAT gives you a comparison, ask yourself:
What exactly am I comparing?
Then make sure the two sides match.
Compare:
- people with people
- books with books
- climates with climates
- populations with populations
- individual items with individual items
- groups with comparable groups
And remember the smaller comparison rules:
than is for comparisons, while then usually relates to time or sequence.
Fewer, many, and number generally go with things you can count.
Less, much, and amount generally go with things treated as quantities.
Most importantly:
Find the two things being compared and make sure the comparison actually makes sense.
Once you develop that habit, many SAT comparison questions become much easier to spot and fix.