Same, Different, Similar — Exercises
Practice the fixed structures the same as, different from, and similar to, plus the same + noun + as and look like for describing resemblance.
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Her opinion is ___ mine.
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the same as
Use 'the same as' to say two things are equal.
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American English is a little ___ British English.
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different from
The standard structure is 'different from' — not 'than' or 'of'.
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This phone is very ___ mine — same brand, same model.
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similar to
The structure is 'similar to' — never 'similar with' or 'similar than'.
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She's the same ___ as me — we were born the same week.
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age
The structure is 'the same + noun + as' — 'the same age as'.
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You ___ your sister — same eyes, same smile.
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look like
Use 'look like + noun' to say two people resemble each other.
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We arrived ___ exactly the same time as you did.
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at
Use 'at the same time' — fixed preposition.
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Their lifestyle is very ___ mine — we both work from home and travel a lot.
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similar to
'Similar to' = alike but not identical. The context ('both ...') confirms similarity, not full equality.
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She speaks ___ same language at home as I do.
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the
The structure is 'the same + noun + as' — always with 'the'.
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Her accent is quite different ___ mine — she's from the south.
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from
The standard preposition is 'different from'.
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She works ___ a teacher at the local school.
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as
Use 'as' to state someone's role or job — 'works as a teacher'. 'Like' would mean she resembles a teacher.
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She speaks French ___ a native speaker — perfect accent.
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like
Use 'like + noun' to compare ('similar to'). 'As' would mean she actually is a native speaker.
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We're ___ the same age, but he's two months older than me.
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about
'About the same age' = approximately equal — a natural collocation.
The Same As, Different From, Similar To
English uses three separate fixed expressions to talk about how two things relate to each other, and each one takes its own preposition that cannot be substituted: the same as (identical), different from (unlike), and similar to (alike but not identical). Confusing these prepositions — 'different than', 'similar with', 'same than' — is one of the most common comparison errors documented in learner corpora, because the three expressions are learned individually rather than derived from a shared rule.
The Same As
She's the same age as me. ('the same' + noun + 'as')
My essay is the same length as yours.
Different From
Her accent is quite different from mine.
Similar To, and Look Like
You look like your sister — same eyes, same smile.
Common Mistakes
✗ This phone is similar with mine. → ✓ This phone is similar to mine.
✗ You look as your sister. → ✓ You look like your sister.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial