Faulty comparisons create confusion for readers and problems for writers. Faulty comparison occurs when the categories being compared are not the same or when the comparison is not completed. The examples below will show two kinds of faulty comparisons and then show how to fix them.

Comparison of dissimilar things

Example: 

       In the larger scheme of things, John Keats’ poetry is richer in image than Longfellow.

In the example above, the comparison is between two things in different categories: John Keats’ poetry (a person’s work) and Longfellow (a person). To correct the sentence, you need to make the categories the same.

Revised:

       In the larger scheme of things, John Keats’ poetry is richer in image than Longfellow’s.

Revised:

       In the larger scheme of things, the poetry of John Keats is richer in image than that of Longfellow.

Incomplete comparisons

Example:

      Managers are more likely to be required to deal with ethics issues.

In the example above, the comparison is faulty because it is incomplete, so it is ambiguous:  readers don’t know what things are being compared. Actually, three separate things could be compared in this sentence: the people, the time frame, and the issues. The revised versions below explore the possibilities.

Revised:

     Managers are more likely than CEOs to be required to deal with ethics issues.

     Managers are more likely to be required to deal with ethics issues than they used to be.

     Managers are more likely to be required to deal with ethics issues than product reliability issues.

In addition to our own website, we recommend the following site: The Guide: SUNY Geneseo’s Online Writing Guide at http://writingguide.geneseo.edu/?pg=topics/commonerrors.html#parallelism . It provides a list of common writing errors and easy fixes for them. 

Test your understanding of the issue of faulty comparisons and how to fix them by correcting the following sentences. Try to fix them in all the ways possible.

1. John Smith likes his dog better than his wife.

2. It is more important to be knowledgeable.

3. We are less likely to go to see Star Wars today.

4. My new dress is a better color for me than Shana.

Answers

1. John Smith likes his dog better than his wife does. 

    John Smith likes his dog better than he likes his wife. (It’s possible.)

2. It is more important to be knowledgeable than to be rich. 

    It is more important than it used to be to be knowledgeable.

3. We are less likely than John is to go see Star Wars today. 

    We are less likely to go see Star Wars today than we are next week. 

    We are less likely to go see Star Wars than The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy today.

4. My new dress is a better color for me than for Shana. 

    My new dress is a better color for me than Shana’s (dress).

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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