English Listening: Language Techniques for Comparing Two or More Services

After listening to Tray and Kelly, which venue would you choose for an event? Let's just find out. Well, you can see we all have different opinions, and I agree with Kelly, it's a tough choice. Now let's look more closely at the language that Tray uses and some other examples to compare two or more services. Of course, you know how to make comparisons. You know how to say that some things are bigger or better or more expensive, or maybe the most convenient. But we often add some words to those comparisons to make them stronger or clearer. For example, we can show if there is a big difference or a little difference. We can use a lot or much if there is a big difference. Sky Tower is a lot more convenient. Misha's gallery is much less expensive. We can use a bit or a little if there is a small difference. I like Sky Towers, but it's a bit more expensive. Cascade Gardens is a little more affordable.

If we want to show there is a really big difference, we can use these expressions. With comparatives like bigger and more convenient, we can add the word far. Cascade Gardens is far bigger. Sky Tower is far more convenient. With superlatives like the largest or the least expensive, we can use a simple phrase to show a really big difference by far. It can go at the end of the sentence. Misha's is the least expensive place by far. This means that there is a very big difference between the price at Misha's and all the other places. We can also put the phrase after the verb. Cascade Gardens is by far the largest venue. Notice that in all of these sentences that we don't mention both things we're comparing. In the conversation it's usually clear what we are comparing. So instead of this, all of them are nice, but Sky Tower has a fantastic view. I know, but it's also a lot more expensive than the other venues. We would just say, I know, but it's also a lot more expensive.

The simplest way to show that two things are similar is to use the word both. It's a nice, flexible word that can go before or after a pair of nouns. Both Sky and Cascade Gardens have great views. Misha's gallery and Cascade Gardens both have free parking. And it can be a pronoun. Both of them offer an AV package. Both hold about 200 people. Here are some additional ways we make comparisons. We use the same plus as with nouns. Sky Tower is the same size as Misha's gallery. We use as with adjectives, as nice as. It's much more common, though, to make the as expression negative, not as nice as. This shows how two things are different. Those venues are not as trendy as Misha's. A common mistake that students make is to use the same with an adjective. It only works with a noun. Try not to make this common error.

In comparisons, if we want to show how something is special or unique in some way, we can use the word only. It goes before a noun. Here are some ways to use that word. All three include tables and chairs, but only Sky Tower includes cleanup. It's the only place that's right downtown. In the conversation with Trey and Kelly, they are talking about three venues, but they don't want to use the word venue over and over. Instead, they use a pronoun one. Let's look at some examples. You see only one that includes cleanup. The most expensive one is Sky Tower. We can also compare things to our own thinking. Let's look at an example. In our video, Kelly said, that's a lot more than I expected. Kelly is comparing the real price with the price in her mind. Here are some similar phrases we can use to compare real things to our expectations, our thoughts, or our memory of something.

We can use these phrases with comparative adjectives like bigger or more beautiful. The garden is bigger than I thought. This view is more beautiful than I imagined. We can also use them with As. That place is not as nice as I remember it. It's not as big as I thought. We're going to look at one more kind of comparison. This is more like an expression or idiom, but it's very common and also a little fun. We want to show how something is better. Kelly says, the bigger the better. What she means is that if a place is bigger, then it's better. We use this phrase when we want to show how something is better. This is the pattern. The plus adjective, comma, the better. The second part is almost always the better. Let's look at a couple of other examples. When do you need this? A sooner the better. Is 9 o'clock too early for our next meeting? The earlier the better. How do you want to ship this? The faster the better. Okay, after the video ends, let's do a little review with a quiz about the language we just covered.