Transcript 1
Transcript 2
Lesson
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
The Comparison - Part I
Mouse-over Spanish text fragments in red to see English translation
In Spanish, we speak of the comparison when a noun, adjective or adverb appears quantified by the adverbs of quantity "más...que", "menos...que", "tan/tanto...como" or by the phrase "igual de...que".
Comparativo de superioridad
más...que (more/adjective+er...than)We can use this comparison particle with:
| nouns --> | Ahora hay más delincuencia que antes. There is more crime now than before. |
| adjectives --> | Sandra es más guapa que Sara. Sandra is prettier than Sara. |
| adverbs --> | La casa de mi tío está más lejos que la de mis abuelos. My uncle's house is farther away than my grandparents. |
Comparativo de inferioridad
menos...que (less...than)We can use this comparison particle with:
| nouns --> | Mi padre tiene menos dinero que el tuyo. My father has less money than yours. |
| adjectives --> | Tu rival es menos inteligente que tú. Your rival is less intelligent than you. |
* Although it is grammatically correct to use "menos...que" with adverbs, native Spanish speakers don't do it. Instead, they use "más...que" and the opposite adverb they want to use. For example:
Esa calle está menos lejos que la otra.
That street is less far than the other
. vs.
Esa calle está más cerca que la otra.
That street is closer than the other.
Comparativo de igualdad
tan...como (as...as)We can use this comparison particle with:
| adjectives --> | El paraguas de Carlos es tan grande como el de Cristian. Carlos' umbrella is as big as Cristian´s. |
| adverbs --> | Deberías llegar tan pronto como como puedas. You should get there as soon as you can. |
igual de...que (just as...as)
We can use this comparison particle with:
| adjectives --> | El atleta que corre por la pista 3 es igual de rápido que el que corre por la pista 5. The athlete who's running by track 3 is just as fast as the one running by track 5. |
| adverbs --> | El vestido rojo se ve igual de bien que el azul. The red dress looks just as good as the blue one. |
tanto/a/os/as...como* (as...as)
We can use this comparison particle with:
| nouns --> | En esta clase hay tantos alumnos como en la clase de álgebra. In this class there's as many students as in Algebra class. |
* The use of tanto/a/os/as depends on the gender and number of the noun it precedes.
|
tanto + singular, masculine noun + como tanta + singular, femenine noun + como tantos + plural, masculine noun + como tantas + plural, femenine noun + como |
The following combinations are not possible (instead, just use the bold part of the expression.)
|
- más/menos/tan mejor...que - más/menos/tan peor...que - más/menos/tan mayor...que - más/menos/tan menor...que - más/menos/tan superior...que - más/menos/tan inferior...que |
Esa película es más peor que la que vimos la semana pasada. – INCORRECT
Esa película es peor que la que vimos la semana pasada. – CORRECT
That movie is worse than the one we saw last week.