When you compare two things that are not alike , you use compare to For example: We are not talking the same thing if we compare apples to oranges When you compare two things that are similar , you use compare with We want to compare your copy with the original to make sure that it is not a bogus document The following usage note from American Heritage Dictionary will discuss these points in more details. Usage Note : Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things : He compared her to a summer day. Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer .
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