Spanish Lesson – Comparatives

Comparative Forms

See also Spanish Grammar

In this Spanish grammar lesson you will learn how to use comparative forms to make comparisons between two people or things. For example, you will learn the Spanish grammatical structure for expressions such as “James is taller than Samuel” or “Maria is as intelligent as Sarah” or “He is the richest man in the world.”

Superiority

The superior form of comparison uses the following structure:

más + (adjective/adverb) + que

For example:

James is taller than Samuel.
James es más alto que Samuel.

Jennifer runs faster than Candy.
Jennifer corre más rápido que Candy.

You have more money than me.
Tienes más dinero que yo.

Inferiority

The inferior form of comparison uses the same structure as the superior form, except the word menos (less) is substituted for the word más (more).

menos + (adjective/adverb) + que

For example:

My house is smaller than your house.
Mi casa es menos grande que tu casa.

She doesn’t work as hard as I do.
Ella trabaja menos duro que yo.

Rick isn’t as smart as Rita.
Rick es menos inteligente que Rita.

Equality

The equal form of comparison uses the following structure:

tan + (adjective/adverb) + como

For example:

You are as pretty as her.
Eres tan linda como ella.

Jack dances as well as Tina.
Jack baila tan bien como Tina.

Superlative

The superlative form indicates the superiority of one person or thing in comparison to all others. It uses the following form:

(el/la/los/las) + (más/menos) + de

He is the richest man in the world.
El es el hombre más rico del mundo.

He is the best looking man in the city.
El es el hombre más guapo de la ciudad.

She is the skinniest of all of them.
Ella es la menos gorda de todas.