Introduction
You already know how to compare two things: "faster," "more expensive," "as tall as." What you might not have full control over yet is how to say exactly how big that gap is — whether it's a tiny, almost-nothing difference or a huge, unmistakable one.
That's the whole job of this page. A small set of words — a bit, far, considerably, by far, not nearly, and their relatives — slot onto a comparison you already know how to build and tell the listener precisely how much of a gap you mean. "More expensive" is neutral. "Considerably more expensive" tells your reader you mean business. This is one of those C1 structures that costs you almost nothing to learn (you already have the comparatives) and pays off constantly, because precision about degree is exactly what separates competent English from genuinely fluent English.
The Core Forms
These modifiers fall into four groups, based on exactly what kind of comparison they attach to. Keeping the groups separate in your head is the single most useful thing you can do with this topic.
Group A — Small-gap modifiers for comparatives
Her second attempt was a little more successful than the first.
Prices have risen somewhat since last year.
Group B — Big-gap modifiers for comparatives
The new policy was considerably more expensive to implement than anyone expected.
Traffic was a lot worse than usual this morning.
Group C — Modifiers for the "as...as" comparison
This laptop is not nearly as fast as the one I had before.
The traffic today was nowhere near as bad as it was last Friday.
Group D — Modifiers for superlatives
She's easily the strongest candidate we've interviewed.
That was far and away his best performance this season.
The Real Rule: Why This Doesn't Generalize
Group A and B words attach only to comparatives, and Group D words attach only to superlatives — the two lists don't cross over. You can say "far more expensive" (comparative) or "by far the most expensive" (superlative), but not "far the most expensive" or "by far more expensive" (mixing the two lists).
"Not nearly" and "nowhere near" attach specifically to the "as...as" frame (or "as much/many...as"). They don't glue directly onto a bare "-er/more" comparative. You can say "not nearly as good as I expected," but "not nearly better than I expected" isn't a standard structure — the frame these two words need is the equative one, not the plain comparative one.
"By far" has one extra trick up its sleeve: it can also attach to "the + comparative" when you're comparing exactly two things, because in that specific case the comparative is effectively acting like a superlative for that pair. "He's by far the taller of the two brothers" works because of "the" and the closed, two-item comparison. Without that definite, superlative-like shape, "by far" doesn't attach to an ordinary comparative: "by far taller than his brother" doesn't work the same way.
Common Errors
Error 1 — Reaching for "very" in this family. "Very" doesn't belong to this set of modifiers at all — it modifies plain adjectives ("very tall") and has its own narrow pattern with short superlatives ("the very best"), but it never modifies a comparative or a "most" superlative here.
✓ She is much more talented than her brother.
Error 2 — Attaching "not nearly" straight onto a bare comparative. This skips the "as...as" frame this word needs.
✓ He's not nearly as friendly as his sister.
Error 3 — Using a Group B word directly on a superlative.
✓ This is by far the most beautiful beach I've ever seen.
Error 4 — Using "by far" with a bare comparative outside the two-item exception.
✓ She is by far the tallest in the class.
Error 5 — Confusing "far too" with "far + comparative." "Far too" means excess, with no explicit comparison and no "than" clause. "Far + comparative" makes an explicit comparison and needs "than."
✓ The soup was far too salty. or The soup was far saltier than I expected.
Error 6 — Stacking an extra "more" onto an adjective that already has its own comparative form.
✓ This laptop is much better than my old one.
Register and Usage
These modifiers aren't all pitched at the same level of formality. "Considerably" and "significantly" lean formal and academic — reports, research, business writing. "A lot," "way," and "loads" (informal variants of the big-gap comparative group) belong to relaxed, spoken English and would feel out of place in a formal report. "Much," "far," "nearly," and "by far" sit comfortably in the middle and work in both speech and writing. "Not nearly" and "nowhere near" are especially common in spoken, persuasive, or conversational contexts — they carry a distinctly emphatic, slightly argumentative flavor, as if you're correcting an assumption ("This is nowhere near as simple as it sounds").
Don't Confuse This With: "Far Too" (Excess, Not Comparison)
"Far" shows up in two structures that look related but do different jobs. "Far + comparative...than" makes an explicit comparison between two things and needs a "than" clause: "This route is far quicker than the old one." "Far too + adjective" expresses pure excess — the thing simply has too much of a quality — and never takes a "than" clause at all: "This route is far too complicated" stands on its own; there's no second thing being compared to. If you see "than" show up after "far too," that's the sign the two structures have been mixed together by mistake.
Exercises
Exercise 1 — Transformation
Rewrite each sentence, inserting the modifier given in the correct position.
Exercise 2 — Error Correction
Each sentence contains one mistake. Find it and type the sentence correctly.
Exercise 3 — Multiple Choice
Choose the sentence that correctly matches the situation described.
1. A huge price difference between two laptops.
2. A tiny height difference between siblings.
3. Emphasizing a clear, unmatched superlative.
4. A huge gap between someone's claimed skill and their real skill.
5. Comparing exactly two job candidates.
6. Describing pure excess, with no explicit comparison being made.
Exercise 4 — Key Word Transformation
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first, using the key word given. The key word must not be changed in any way.