Gurpreet from Ludhiana wrote that one figure was “two times more than” another. It was actually double.

Comparisons turn a list of numbers into analysis. Learn a few structures, such as twice as many as, three times as high as, whereas and compared with, and make sure each one matches the data exactly.

Which structures show a comparison?

The task instruction asks you to make comparisons where relevant. Here are eight structures, each with invented figures.

Structure Example with invented figures Watch out
twice as many as City A had 80,000 cyclists, twice as many as City B. Use with countable nouns.
twice as much as Plant X made 60 tonnes, twice as much as Plant Y. Use with uncountable nouns.
three times as high as Solar output was three times as high as hydro output. “Three times higher than” can be read as four times.
compared with Output reached 50 tonnes, compared with 25 tonnes in 2015. Compare like with like.
whereas Coal use fell to 10%, whereas solar power rose to 45%. Put a comma before whereas.
by contrast Sales grew by 10%. By contrast, imports fell. Start a new sentence, then add a comma.
in comparison with In comparison with 2015, enrolment in 2025 was 20% higher. Name both things being compared.
as … as Chemistry enrolment was as high as Physics enrolment. Do not add “than”.

Why is “two times more than” risky?

Take two figures, 20 and 40. The larger is twice as large as the smaller, and “twice as many as” has one clear meaning. “Two times more than” can be read as 40, or as 60 (20 plus two times 20), so the reader may not know which you mean.

Use “twice as many as” for countable nouns and “twice as much as” for uncountable ones. Our comparative structures lesson covers “as … as” in more depth.

Use a comparative for two things (“higher than”) and a superlative for three or more (“the highest”). Qualify the gap with “slightly”, “much” or “considerably”, and revise the adjective forms in our degrees of comparison lesson.

Incorrect: “Sales in 2025 were more higher than in 2005.”

Correct: Sales in 2025 were much higher than in 2005.

“Higher” is already a comparative, so add “much” or “far”, not “more”.

How do you contrast two figures?

“Whereas” and “while” join two contrasting facts in one sentence. “By contrast” starts a new sentence and is followed by a comma. Choose one pattern for each pair of figures, rather than repeating the same linker.

For writing the figures themselves, see our post on numbers and approximations.

What does it look like in a paragraph?

These invented figures show electricity generated in 2025, in terawatt-hours (TWh): solar 60, wind 30, hydro 20 and coal 10. For how to present such categories in a chart answer, see our post on the bar chart.

Model detail paragraph (illustrative Band 7)

In 2025, solar power was the largest source, generating 60 TWh of electricity, twice as much as wind power at 30 TWh. Hydro power produced 20 TWh in the same year, compared with 10 TWh from coal. Solar output was also three times as high as hydro output, whereas coal supplied the smallest amount of the four sources, at one-sixth of the solar figure.

Why it works:

  • Task Achievement: it turns the four figures into comparisons, and each figure matches the data.
  • Coherence and Cohesion: “compared with”, “also” and “whereas” link the sentences.
  • Lexical Resource: “twice as much as”, “three times as high as” and “one-sixth of the solar figure” vary the comparisons.
  • Grammatical Range and Accuracy: “much” goes with an uncountable noun, and the superlatives “largest” and “smallest” suit four sources.

Tip

Divide the larger figure by the smaller one before you write “times”, and check that the result is a simple number.

Try It

Write one comparison sentence for each pair of invented figures:

  • City A bus riders (80,000) and City B bus riders (40,000) in 2025.
  • Company X profit (£90,000) and Company Y profit (£30,000) in 2024.
  • Town library visitors in 2010 (5,000) and in 2020 (1,000).
  • Engineering enrolments (45% of students) and Arts enrolments (15%) in 2023.
Show sample answer
  • In 2025, City A had twice as many bus riders as City B.
  • In 2024, Company X’s profit was three times as high as Company Y’s.
  • The library had five times as many visitors in 2010 as in 2020.
  • Engineering accounted for 45% of enrolments in 2023, whereas Arts accounted for 15%.

Key Takeaways

  • Use “twice as many as” for countable nouns and “twice as much as” for uncountable.
  • Avoid “two times more than”; it can be read in two ways.
  • Join contrasts with “whereas”, “while” or “by contrast”.
  • Name both things being compared, and compare like with like.

The bottom line: Let the relationship between the figures choose the structure: double, triple, similar or opposite.