"Compare to" na "compare with": matumizi ya kihusishi katika Kiingereza

Baadhi ya waandishi wanadai kwamba "compare to" na "compare with" kimsingi zina maana sawa, lakini usiwaamini. Kwa kweli, kitenzi compare kina maana kadhaa tofauti, ambapo baadhi zinahitaji kihusishi "to", wakati zingine zinahitaji "with":

compare A to B = kulinganisha A na B, yaani, kudai kwamba A na B zinafanana

Kwa mfano, sentensi:

Football experts compare him to the legendary Pelé.

inamaanisha kwamba wataalamu wa soka wanasema kwamba kuna mfanano mwingi kati ya mchezaji huyo na Pelé (yaani, kwamba mchezaji huyo ni mzuri kama Pelé). Hata hivyo, kulinganisha hakuhitaji kuwa chanya kila wakati:

Stalinism has been compared to Fascism.

Hapa maana iliyodokezwa si tu kwamba stalinism inafanana na ufashisti, bali pia kwamba stalinism ni mbaya kama ufashisti.

Katika maana iliyoelezwa hapo juu, hutumika tu compare to. compare with inaelezea dhana tofauti:

compare A with B = kulinganisha A na B, yaani, kutathmini mfanano na tofauti kati ya A na B

Kwa mfano:

I compared the performance of my computer with yours, and I must say, your computer is much better than mine.

Investigators compared his fingerprints with those found at the crime scene and found out they didn't match.

Wakati "compare" inapotumika katika maana hii, inawezekana kutumia "and" badala ya "with", kwa mfano:

I compared the performance of my computer and yours, and your computer turned out to be better.

Katika maana ya "kulinganisha" haiwezekani; sentensi "experts compare him and the legendary Pelé" haina maana ikiwa unataka kuonyesha mfanano.

Sauti ya kupita: Compared to/compared with

Hata hivyo, wakati kitenzi kinapotumika katika sauti ya kupita, zote mbili hutumika kwa kawaida kuonyesha kulinganisha: compared to na compared with. Kwa mfano:

My computer is really bad, compared to/compared with yours.

My Facebook page has 6,000 subscribers, compared to/compared with 2,500 it had a year ago.

Kwa kuzingatia maana zilizoelezwa hapo juu, mtu angeweza kutarajia kwamba maana itakuwa na "compared with" pekee, lakini ukweli ni kwamba "compared to" ni mara nyingi zaidi katika fasihi ya Kiingereza kuliko "compared with".

Endelea kusoma

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Koma baada ya "i.e." na "e.g." katika Kiingereza

Maoni

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