Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to make comparisons of superiority, inferiority, and equality in Spanish.
Lesson Explanation
Comparisons of superiority and inferiority use más…que (more…than) and menos…que (less…than):
Ana es más alta que Juan. — Ana is taller than Juan. Este libro es menos interesante que aquel. — This book is less interesting than that one.
Comparisons of equality use tan…como (as…as) with adjectives, and tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas…como (as much/many…as) with nouns — genuinely requiring gender/number agreement with the noun, unlike tan:
Ana es tan alta como Juan. — Ana is as tall as Juan. Tengo tantos libros como tú. — I have as many books as you. Tengo tanta paciencia como tú. — I have as much patience as you.
A genuinely important set of irregular comparatives must be memorized rather than built with más: bueno (good) → mejor (better), malo (bad) → peor (worse), grande (big/old) → mayor (older/bigger), pequeño (small/young) → menor (younger/smaller).
Superlatives add the definite article before más/menos: el más alto (the tallest), la menos interesante (the least interesting) — reusing the el/la agreement pattern from Part 1, Lesson 4.
Practice Questions
1. Write the Spanish structure for “more…than.”
View Answer
Más…que.
2. Write the Spanish structure for “less…than.”
View Answer
Menos…que.
3. Write “Ana is taller than Juan.”
View Answer
Ana es más alta que Juan.
4. Write the Spanish structure for “as…as” used with adjectives.
View Answer
Tan…como.
5. Write “Ana is as tall as Juan.”
View Answer
Ana es tan alta como Juan.
6. Does “tanto” need to agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies?
View Answer
Yes, unlike “tan.”
7. Write “I have as many books as you,” using the correct agreement.
View Answer
Tengo tantos libros como tú.
8. What is the irregular comparative form of “bueno” (good)?
View Answer
Mejor.
9. What is the irregular comparative form of “malo” (bad)?
View Answer
Peor.
10. What is the irregular comparative form of “grande” (big/old), meaning “older/bigger”?
View Answer
Mayor.
11. How is a superlative like “the tallest” formed, using the definite article?
View Answer
El/la + más + adjective, e.g. “el más alto.”
12. Write “the least interesting” (feminine).
View Answer
La menos interesante.