English UsageGrammar guide
Identical To: Standard Pattern
Identical To: Standard Pattern combines dictionary and grammar evidence for the directly documented identical-to construction without forcing an unsupported identical-with comparison page.
Cambridge documents “identical to” when two things are exactly the same or effectively the same for the comparison being made.
Key details
Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familycomparison complement
Termsidentical to
Further guidance
Construction
Cambridge Grammar explicitly gives the pattern identical to.
Style Boundary
Identical can also stand without a complement; this guide covers the to-complement pattern.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- identical — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge dictionary evidence for identical to as a documented comparison pattern.
- Same, similar, identical — Cambridge Dictionary Grammar (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Cambridge Grammar evidence that similar and identical use the patterns similar to and identical to.