Samemeans that two or more things are exactly like one another. We can usesameas an adjective before a noun or as a pronoun. When we usesametocompare people or things, we must use it withthe:
I noticed that Richard and I were both wearingthe samejacket.
Not: …were both wearing same jacket.
These two colours are notthe same. This one is slightly lighter than that one.
Not: …are not same.
The same as
The sameis followed byas. It is not followed bythatorthan:
Does ‘start’ meanthe same as‘begin’ in English?
Not: …the same that… or …the same than…
My new car isthe samemodelasmy old one.
Not: …the same model that… or …the same model than…
The same+ noun + clause
When we usethe samewith a noun, we can follow it by a clause withthat, and less commonly withwhoorwhich. We can often leave outthat,whoorwhich:
She’sthe sameperson (that) I spoke to when I phoned their office.
How was the course? Was itthe sameteacher (who) you had last time?
We can emphasisesamewithvery:
This isthe very samehotel we stayed at when we were here twenty years ago!
Do the same
We can usedo the sameinstead of repeating a clause:
She bought her ticket for the folk festival online, and wedid the same.(We also bought our tickets online.)
Similarandidentical
We usesimilarif two or more things are not entirely the same, oridenticalif two or more things are exactly the same. We use the patternssimilar toandidentical to, a similar+ noun ora similar+oneandan identical+ noun oran identical+one.We don’t saya same:
This colour issimilar tothat one.
Frank had a problem connecting his printer. We hada similarproblem, so it must be the software.
Not: …a same problem…
She first showed us a beautiful 16th-century vase. Then she showed usanidentical one, but the second one was a copy.
Not: …a same one…
Questions 1 and 2 wereidentical.