Comparison questions on ACT English test whether you matched the right word to what you are counting—less for amounts, fewer for countable items—and whether both sides of a than comparison use parallel structure. Superlatives (most, best) and phrases like that of show up too.
Less vs fewer
- Less: uncountable amounts—less time, less patience, less water
- Fewer: countable items—fewer errors, fewer students, fewer pages
If you can say "one ___, two ___," use fewer. If not, use less.
More, most, better, best
More and most compare quantity or degree; better and best compare quality. Use superlatives only when three or more things are in the set: the best of the three drafts. Adjective vs adverb form matters—see adjectives vs adverbs on the ACT.
Than comparisons need parallel structure
Both sides of than must match grammatically: She runs faster than he (runs), not than him when he is the subject of the implied verb. Lists compared with than need the same pattern on each side. Full rules in ACT parallel structure.
That of and those of
When comparing two nouns directly would be awkward, use that of (singular) or those of (plural): Her score was higher than that of her classmates—not than her classmates, which compares score to people.
Between vs among (briefly)
Between usually compares two (or distinct pairs); among spreads across a group: choose between two essays, distributed among the team members. The ACT rarely leads with this distinction, but wrong prepositions can appear in wrong answer choices.
How to solve fast
- Identify what is being compared on each side of than or as.
- Check countable vs uncountable for less/fewer.
- Fix parallelism before picking a word-choice answer.
Comparison wording also ties to word choice and formality. More grammar rules in ACT English grammar rules.
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