Compare To, Compare With
In general terms, either preposition is correct, but the choice depends partly on meaning and partly on grammar. In addition, American English generally prefers to when there is a choice, whereas in British English the two different constructions are more evenly spread.
Let’s look first at the meaning of each phrase. To compare can be defined broadly as ‘to estimate the similarity or difference between things’. For example:
However, when compare is used to say that one thing resembles another, or to make an analogy between two different things, to is obligatory:
One of the most famous lines in English poetry, from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, uses compare to in this way:
British English prefers with when compare is used intransitively, because similarities are being evaluated:
In American English, however, compare to is possible and slightly more frequent:
When the past participle compared introduces a subordinate clause or phrase, the preposition is either to or with, although here usage is moving in favour of to:
(Description from Oxford Dictionaries) |