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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

Comparison

Compared with or compared to that is the question. I believe that both are correct subject to the overall context of the qstatement
  

Top answer

W. Fowler : 'Compare', in the sense 'suggest or state a similarity', is regularly followed by 'to', not 'with'; in the sense 'examine or set forth the details of a supposed similarity or estimate its degree', it is regularly followed by 'with', not 'to'. 'He compared me to Demosthenes' means that he suggested that I was comparable to him or put me in the same class; 'He compared me with Demosthenes' means that he instituted a detailed comparison or pointed out where & how far I resembled or failed to resemble him.

— Mister Micawber

  • W.
  • Fowler : 'Compare', in the sense 'suggest or state a similarity', is regularly followed by 'to', not 'with'; in the sense 'examine or set forth the details of a supposed similarity or estimate its degree', it is regularly followed by 'with', not 'to'.
  • 'He compared me to Demosthenes' means that he suggested that I was comparable to him or put me in the same class; 'He compared me with Demosthenes' means that he instituted a detailed comparison or pointed out where & how far I resembled or failed to resemble him.
  • 'Compared with/to him, I am a bunger'-- this is a common sentence type iin which either sense is applicable.
  • After the intransitive verb ('A boiled mullet cannot compare with a baked one'), 'with' alone is possible.
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1 Answers
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Some authoritative comments:

H.W. Fowler:

'Compare', in the sense 'suggest or state a similarity', is regularly followed by 'to', not 'with'; in the sense 'examine or set forth the details of a supposed similarity or estimate its degree', it is regularly followed by 'with', not 'to'.

'He compared me to Demosthenes' means that he suggested that I was compara
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