Erroneous Comparisons - Simple Practice

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The ACT will test your ability to identify inaccurate comparisons within a sentence, which can sometimes be tricky to spot. In order to do so, keep in mind the following principles:

Comparisons can ONLY be made between
- equivalent nouns: people must be compared to people and things must be compared to things.
- items that are related or in the same category.
Comparisons CANNOT be made between
- something in a particular category and all things of that category.

Example	Explanation
Dr. Goldberg has more teaching experience than the new professor does. The winters in Chicago are much colder than winters in California.	The underlined nouns in each sentence are equivalent and can be compared. The first example compares two people, and the second compares two things.
Roses are more fragrant than lilies.	Since both roses and lilies are flowers, they are in the same category and can logically be compared.
My astronomy class is harder than any other class I’ve taken.	The astronomy class is established as separate from the entire category of classes with the phrase “any other.”

How Will the Test Try to Trick You?
The test will try to confuse you by using a possessive noun to modify the subject of a sentence that compares a thing to a person.	Incorrect 🚫	Correct ✅
	This sentence is incorrect because it compares Da Vinci’s paintings, which are things, to painters, which are people. Da Vinci’s paintings were more three-dimensional than painters before him. Da Vinci’s is a possessive adjective—it modifies the noun paintings. Da Vinci is not part of the comparison, his paintings are.	Either of the following revisions would correct the comparison. Da Vinci’s paintings were more three-dimensional than those of painters before him. Da Vinci’s paintings were more three-dimensional than paintings of artists before him.
The test will also include sentences that compare items that are unrelated.	The following compares cars to bicycles. Since the two are unrelated and not in the same category, the comparison is illogical The Porsche could travel much faster than her mountain bike.	The Porsche could travel much faster than the minivan.
Some items will include illogical comparisons between a specific thing and a larger group.	She valued her guitar more than all her possessions.	She valued her guitar more than any of her other possessions.

Tips and Strategies

Look out for words that indicate a comparison is being made: like, unlike, as, than
Identify the two things that the sentence is comparing and make sure they are the same type of noun and can be logically compared.
- Underline the noun in the subject position and the noun in the object position.
- Can the subject and object logically be compared?

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