Basic Spanish grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives

1. Raúl R. Poncela
@nosolo_ele
www.nosoloele.wordpress.com

2. Para hacer comparaciones/to make
comparions use:
Más…(adjetivo)….que More…than/….er than
El alcohol es más caro en
Inglaterra que en España
Alcochol is more expensive in England than in Spain

3. Para hacer comparaciones/to make
comparions use:
Menos…(adjetivo)….que Less……………..than
Tomás es menos inteligente que Pablo
Tomás is less intelligent than Pablo

4. To say that something or somebody is
“as………as” you use “tan + adjetivo+como”
Tan…..(adjectivo)….como As…(adjetivo)…..as
La catedral es tan antigua como el castillo
The cathedral is as old as the castle
El alcohol es tan peligroso como el trabajo
Alcohol is as dangerous as tobacco

5. Tanto/a/os/as…(nombre)…..como As many…..(nombre)…......as
Las chicas practican tantos deportes como los chicos
Girls take part in as many sports as boys
Tanto is itself an adjective (tanto/a/os/as) and so
must agree with the noun it describes
No hay tanta gente aquí hoy como ayer
Tanta: (femenino/sing) La gente (femenino/sing)

6. Special comparative forms:
◦ There are a few important irregular comparatives:
MEJOR BETTER
PEOR WORSE
MAYOR OLDER
MENOR YOUNGER

7. MEJOR BETTER
Este pan es bueno, pero el pan
integral es mejor
This bread is good, but wholewheat bread is better

8. MEJOR QUE BETTER THAN
El Real Madrid es mejor que el
Barcelona
Real Madrid is better than Barcelona

9. PEOR QUE WORSE THAN
Fernando Torres es peor que
Cristiano Ronaldo
Fernando Torres is worse than Cristiano Ronaldo

10. MAYOR QUE OLDER THAN
Bart Simpson es mayor que Maggie
Simpson
Bart Simpson is older than Maggie Simpson

11. MENOR QUE YOUNGER THAN
Maggie Simpson es menor que Bart
Simpson
Maggie Simpson is younger than Bart Simpson

12. ¡ATENCIÓN! Note than in English, you sometimes use “big”
and “little” when We mean older and younger. Spanish uses
mayor/menor
Mi hermano mayor se llama Enrique
My big (i.e. older) brother is called Enrique
Mi hermana menor se llama Irene
My little (i.e younger) sister is called Irene

13. El/la/los/las + más The most…/ the………es
Esta casa es la más vieja de la región
This house is the oldest in the area
Nuestro colegio es el más moderno de la
ciudad
Our school is the most modern in the town

14. El/la/los/las + menos The most / the……..est
Este hotel es el menos caro de la
región
This hotel is the least expensive in the area

15. The (same) adjectives are irregular in the
superlative as in the comparitive form.
El/la mejor The best
El/la peor The worst
El/la mayor The biggest
El/la menor The youngest

16. To put special emphasis on an adjective, you
can add –ísimo/a/os/as to it. This is a strong
way of saying very:
El colegio es aburridísimo
School is so boring
La chaqueta es carísima
Tha jacket is incredibly expensive