انرژی: هر منبعی هزینه‌ای داردEnergy: every source has a cost

Comparing three or more things without a false winner

مقایسه در B2 فقط -er و -est نیست؛ دقیق‌بودن دربارهٔ اینکه چه چیزی و به چه اندازه مقایسه می‌شود است. درجهٔ تفاوت پیش از صفت تفضیلی می‌آید: far cheaper، considerably cleaner، marginally better، slightly worse، nowhere near as expensive، not nearly as reliable. یک «cheaper»ِ برهنه دعوت به پرسشِ «چقدر؟» است. مبنای مقایسه عبارتی است که نمی‌گذارد استدلال تقلب کند: per unit، per kilowatt-hour، in absolute terms، over its lifetime، at scale، once storage is included. خورشیدی به‌ازای هر واحد ارزان‌تر است و با احتساب ذخیره‌سازی گران‌تر — هر دو درست‌اند، و نام‌بردن مبنا چیزی است که جمله را صادقانه می‌کند. NOT AS … AS منفیِ طبیعی است: «Wind is not as predictable as gas» در گفتار بهتر از «Wind is less predictable than gas» خوانده می‌شود. تفضیلیِ دوگانه دو چیزِ متغیر را به هم می‌بندد: «the more intermittent the supply, the more storage you need.» به الگوی ثابت دقت کن: the + تفضیلی + جمله، the + تفضیلی + جمله، و در صورت‌های کوتاه فعل هم لازم نیست — «the sooner, the better.» و برای نتیجه‌گیریِ صادقانه‌ای که این موضوع می‌طلبد، از no option is without استفاده کن: «No option is without a cost; the question is which cost you would rather carry.»

Comparison at B2 is not just -er and -est; it is about being precise regarding WHAT is being compared and BY HOW MUCH. THE DEGREE OF DIFFERENCE goes in front of the comparative: far cheaper, considerably cleaner, marginally better, slightly worse, nowhere near as expensive, not nearly as reliable. A bare "cheaper" invites the reply "by how much?" THE BASIS OF COMPARISON is the phrase that stops an argument from cheating: per unit, per kilowatt-hour, in absolute terms, over its lifetime, at scale, once storage is included. Solar is cheaper per unit and more expensive once storage is included — both are true, and naming the basis is what makes the sentence honest. NOT AS … AS is the natural negative: "Wind is not as predictable as gas" reads better than "Wind is less predictable than gas" in speech. THE DOUBLE COMPARATIVE links two moving things: "the more intermittent the supply, the more storage you need." Note the fixed pattern: the + comparative + clause, the + comparative + clause, with no verb needed in short forms — "the sooner, the better." And for the honest conclusion this topic demands, use no option is without: "No option is without a cost; the question is which cost you would rather carry."