GRAMMAR: Compare TO vs. compare WITH

[longlong]

Question: What's the difference between compare to and compare with?

Many investors base their choice between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to the dividends available on common stocks.
(A) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields to
(B) among bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields to
(C) between bonds and stocks on comparisons of bond yields with
(D) among bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields and
(E) between bonds and stocks on comparing bond yields with

SPOILER: answer: C

Should we consider bond yield the same as stock devidend? To my understanding, comparing same class of things use with, while comparing different class of things use to.

Please help.

Ron

[MBA_Fall2004]

Yes. You can think 'yield' and 'dividend' to be similar things here.

[Erin]

Originally posted by longlong

Should we consider bond yield the same as stock devidend? To my understanding, comparing same class of things use with, while comparing different class of things use to.

I suppose that's one way to think of it, although this is not the traditional way to explain it.

Compare with: To evaluate things relative to each other; for example, I'm thinking of buying either a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry, so I'm comparing each with the other, trying to figure out which to buy. This meaning is much more common.

Compare to: To say that one thing is like another thing, often to try to explain what one is like, but sometimes as an insult; for example, My friend didn't know what a pomelo was, so I compared it to a grapefruit. Then she was able to understand what it was. or My friend got mad at the way I handled her bags, so she compared me to a gorilla. This meaning is less common.

[mirages]

So here, why can't we choose E? What's the difference between comparison and comparing? Or generally, when do we use a noun, when do we use a gerund?

[remPeter]

Erin,

Is it ever correct to say compare against?

[lorcar]

then the correct answer is???

[dreamz]

Answer is C

[ikhlas]

Thanks for your clarifying, you made me to ask about the difference between think of ,and think about ?!

[harshsharda]

Please can anyone justify why 'E' is an incorrect option here ? What differentiating criteria has been used to classify 'on comparing' as the correct options while marking 'on comparison' as an incorrect one?

Cheers