ほど

ほど marks a degree. After a noun, with a negative at the end of the sentence, it means "not as … as"; after the plain form of a verb or an adjective, it means "so … that", "to the point of".

ほど or より

より says one thing is more than another and takes an ordinary positive sentence. ほど compares only in the negative: the second thing does not reach the level of the first.

• × 今日は昨日ほど寒い → 今日は昨日より寒い

The same ほど with ない or いない at the end says nothing else matches: "there's nothing as … as".

"So … that"

The clause before ほど describes how far things went. A な-adjective keeps な, and before a noun ほど takes の.

くらい works in the same place and sounds more casual. In the "not as … as" pattern, ほど is the one to use.

The more … the more

With the ば-form of the same verb or adjective before it, ほど means "the more …, the more …".

About an amount

After a number, ほど means "about". It is a little more formal than くらい, and you hear it in shops and announcements.