Scrambled Sentences: Compare and Contrast Football and
Basketball
Unscramble the sentences below - put them in the right order.
Give a title to each part: Introduction, Conclusion, Similarities and Differences
I
1. There are many different kinds.
2. Some of them are very popular and most sports provide many benefits to anyone who plays
them.
3. Some of them are played individually, whereas others are played in teams against another team.
4. I am going to write about the similarities and differences between two sports; basketball and
football.
5. Sports have been played all over the world for hundreds, maybe thousands of years.
II
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
It is usually a reddish-brown colour.
A basketball team consists of five players, while a football team is made up of eleven players.
It is usually black and white.
Another similarity between them is that they both use a ball, although these are not exactly the
same.
In both of these sports, players can be replaced by substitutes when they are injured or tired.
In contrast, a basketball is generally not as light and it is made of hard rubber.
There are some important similarities between basketball and football.
A football is round, light, quite hard, and made of either leather of synthetic material.
Firstly, they are both team sports.
III
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Another obvious difference is the places that these sports are played.
In contrast, basketball players can only use their hands to control the ball, which they dribble,
pass and shoot.
One difference is the part of the body used to control the ball.
Football is generally played outdoors on grass pitches, whereas basketball is usually played
indoors on a wooden surface, although quite a lot of people also play outdoors on concrete
basketball courts.
In football, the feet are used to dribble, kick and trap the ball.
Although there are some similarities, there are also some important differences.
Also, people sometimes use their heads to head the ball.
IV
1. That is probably the reason basketball and football are so popular all around the world.
2. They can also learn self-discipline and teamwork at the same time.
3. All in all, most sports, especially team sports like basketball and football, give players a
chance to develop themselves physically.
Compare and Contrast: Structure and Vocabulary
It is
(It is)
X is
X is not
X is
X is not quite as/so
Smaller / bigger / cheaper /etc
Considerably/ a great deal / (very)
much / (quite) a lot / Rather /
Somewhat / a little/ slightly
Exactly/precisely /just/virtually/
practically/more or less/ almost
Exactly / Entirely/ quite
Totally/completely/entirely /quite
Big /expensive /etc.
than ….
the same as…
the same as…
different from Y
as
Compare and Contrast Structures
Compare
Both
Each
Neither
Neither …nor…
Both Abu Dhabi and Ajman are on the coast.
Each emirate has its own healthcare system.
Neither emirate has a river.
Neither Abu Dhabi nor Ajman has high mountains.
Contrast
….but….
..whereas..
In contrast to
As opposed to
Oranges are sweet but lemons are bitter.
Europeans eat potatoes whereas Asians eat rice.
Most Italians are Catholics, in contrast to Thais who are Buddhist.
British motorists drive on the left as opposed to Emiratis who drive on the right.
Comparative
Adj + er than
Much adj + er than
Much more adj than
not as …….as
Abu Dhabi is bigger than Ajman.
New York is much bigger than Bani Yas.
A Landcruiser is much more powerful than a Smartcar.
Al Ain is not as humid as Abu Dhabi.
Give two examples of each structure. Use the examples above to help you. Be careful that the subject
verb agreement is correct in each example. Use the vocabulary taken from the interviews.
both
(a) …………………………………………………………………...
(b) …………………………………………………………………...