Comparisons and
superlatives
Comparisons of
inequality
Adjectival and adverbial comparisons of inequality (bigger than,
harder than, etc. or slower than, faster than, etc.) are quite
simple. The few irregularities that exist are very commonly
used.
The usual way to express inequality is to place the adverbs
más or menos (which themselves are the
comparative forms of mucho and poco) before the
adjective or adverb.
- Esto es más difícil que eso.
(adjective)
- La segunda película es menos interesante que
la primera. (adjective)
- Ese hombre corre más despacio que el otro.
(adverb)
- Esa canción tiene un ritmo menos rápido
que la otra. (adverb)
If one includes más and menos, there are
only eight irregular comparative forms of adjectives and
adverbs:
Adjective/Adverb –> Comparative
form
- mucho/a –> más (No tengo mucho dinero, pero tengo
más que tú.*)
- poco/a –> menos (Tienes pocos problemas, pero tengo
menos que tú.)
- bueno/a –> mejor (Casablanca es una película
excelente, pero ésta es mejor.)
- malo/a –> peor (Esto es peor que eso.)
- bien –> mejor (Esto funciona mejor que eso.)
- mal –> peor (Esto funciona peor que eso.)
- grande –> mayor** (Mi hermano es mayor que yo.)
- pequeño –> menor** (Mi hermana es menor que
yo.)
* If the comparative más is followed by a number,
the word de should replace que. That is, Tengo más
de tres ("I have more than three.").
** Mayor and menor mean "older" and "younger,"
respectively. If one wishes to say "bigger" or "smaller," one uses
más grande or más pequeño.
Comparisons of equality
When one wishes to compare adverbs or adjectives equally a
special syntax is used in Spanish. Some examples in English are:
She learns as quickly as he , They work as much as the managers,
She is as happy as he is, The fish is as expensive as the meat,
or That article is as long as the other one. The formula in
Spanish is tan + adverb / adjective + como, and some
examples are as follow:
- Este lápiz no escribe tan bien como la
pluma. (This pencil doesn't write as well as the
pen.)
- Pelé corre tan rápidamente como Bruce
Jenner. (Pelé runs as fast as Bruce Jenner.)
- Los adjetivos son tan útiles como los
adverbios. (Adjectives are as useful as adverbs.)
- La matemática es tan difícil como la
física. (Math is as hard as physics.)
- Los caballos son tan bonitos como los gatos.
(Horses are as pretty as cats.)
It is also possible to construct comparisons of nouns with the
following formula: tanto (a, os, as) + noun + como. In this
construction it is important to remember that the word tanto
must agree in number and gender with the word that it
precedes.
- No tengo tanto dinero como el banco. (I don't
have as much money as the bank.)
- No hay tanta atmósfera en la montaña
como en el valle. (There isn't as much air on the
mountaintop as there is in the valley.)
- Esta comedia no tiene tantos actos como el otro.
(This comedy doesn't have as many acts as the other.)
- Hemos tenido tantas experiencias este año
como en el año pasado. (We have had as many
experiences this year as we did last year.)
Superlative degree
of comparison
To form the superlative degree of comparison, e.g. the
higest, the coldest, the most addled, etc. add the appropriate
definite article before the modifier más or
menos, followed by the adjective. If there is an explicit
comparison, use de instead of que or
en.
- Esta novela es la más interesante.
(This novel is the most interesting.)
- Este plato es el menos caro. (This dish is the
least expensive.)
- Estos ejercicios son los más difíciles de
todos.* (These exercises are the hardest of
all.)
- El elefante es el animal más grande de la
selva.* (The elephant is the biggest animal in the
bush.)
* Note the use of de.
See also