Comparatives

Comparatives allow the comparison of equal and unequal degrees of qualities, attributes and characteristics.

There are 5 levels of comparison:

1.      equality

2.      inferiority

3.      superiority

4.      superlative

5.      irregular

 

IGUALDAD/ EQUALITY

1. When comparing adjectives and adverbs, tan…como/ as...as is used. Tan never changes in the comparison or contrast of qualities.

EXAMPLES:

·         La amortización es tan importante como los gastos./ The depreciation is as important as expenses.

·         El porcentaje de interés es tan bajo como las ganancias./ The interest rate is as low as the profits.

 

2. When equating quantities or comparing nouns, tanto…como (as much as, as many as) is used. Tanto changes to tanta, tantas, tantos to agree with the noun's gender and number.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	tanto	tantos
Feminine	tanta	tantas

EXAMPLES:

·         Esta compañía no tiene tanto dinero como su competición./ This company doesn't have as much money as its competition.

·         Sin embargo sí tiene tantos autos como su competición./ However, it does have as many cars as its competition.

 

DESIGUALDAD/ INEQUALITY

In Spanish, the comparative of most adjectives, adverbs, and nouns is formed by using más… que/ more...than for superiority and menos…que/ less...than for inferiority.

NOTE: That the words más and menos do NOT change with gender or number.

EXAMPLES:

·         La tasa de interés al consumidor es menos atractiva que la interbancaria./ The consumer's interest rate is less attractive than that of the interbank's.

·         Tengo más interés en las finanzas que en la mercadotecnia./ I have more interest in finance than in marketing.

 

NOTE: De is used instead of que before an expression of quantity or amount.

EXAMPLES:

·         Hay más de 3 competidores./ There are more than 3 competitors.

·         Tengo menos de 30 minutos para terminar la lección./ I have less than 30 minutes to finish the lesson.

 

SUPERLATIVOS/ SUPERLATIVES

They express the highest or lowest degree of comparison when comparing two or more things.

There are 2 main ways to express a superlative idea. Its construction is similar to that of the comparative form:

1. Superlatives are formed by placing the definite article before the noun being compared, and note that the words más and menos do NOT change with gender or number. In these instances, the article determines the gender and the number of the subject.

Degree	Gender	Singular	Plural
Highest	Masculine	el más/ the most	los más/ the most
	Feminine	la más/ the most	las más/ the most
Lowest	Masculine	el menos/ the least	los menos/ the least
	Feminine	la menos/ the least	las menos/ the least

EXAMPLES:

·         Este banco es el más grande del país./ This bank is the largest in the country.

·         Estos bancos son los más grandes del país./ These banks are the largest in the country.

·         La casa es la más grande en la cuadra./ The house is the largest in the block.

·         Las casas son las más grandes en la cuadra./ The houses are the largest in the block.

·         El vicepresidente es el menos pagado en la compañía./ The Vice President is the least paid in the company.

·         Los vicepresidentes son los menos pagados./ The Vice Presidents are the least paid.

·         La vicepresidenta es la menos pagada./ The Vice Presidente (female) is the least paid.

·         Las vicepresidentas son las menos pagadas./ The Vice Presidents (female) are the least paid.

 

2. Superlatives are also formed by adding the suffix -ísimo (-a, -os, -as) to an adjective or an adverb.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-ísimo	-ísimos
Feminine	-ísima	-ísimas

EXAMPLES:

·         Juan es inteligentísimo./ Juan is extremely intelligent.

·         Juan y Ana son inteligentísimos./ Juan and Ana are extremely intelligent.

·         Ana es inteligentísima./ Ana is extremely intelligent.

·         Ana y Rosa son inteligentísimas./ Ana and Rosa are extremely intelligent.

 

IRREGULAR/ IRREGULAR

The following are adjectives and adverbs with irregular comparative forms:

Adjectives and adverbs	Comparative form
bueno/ good	mejor/better
bien/well	mejor/better
malo/bad	peor/worse
mal/badly	peor/worse
viejo/old (when referring to people only)	mayor/older
joven/young (when referring to people only)	menor/younger