Comparisons …

Comparisons are between 2 things, groups, ideas, or concepts. Comparisons are made when one object/one group is compared to another object/group and a difference is apparent.

Spanish and English use comparisons to indicate which of two people or things has a lesser, equal, or greater degree of a quality. stronger more intelligent

Comparisons of inequality are formed by placing más (more) or menos (less) before adjectives, adverbs, and nouns and que (than) after them. adjective más/menos + adverb + que noun Comparisons of inequality

Comparison formula So let’s compare these two men For this exercise I will describe each of the characters. JoeSam Social Shy Athletic Skinny

Let’s use the formula, in this case Joe is more athletic than Sam adjective más + adverb + que noun Joe:Sam Joe es más atlético (athletic) que Sam. Make sure the adjective agrees in number and gender.

Now.. Sam is less social than Joe adjective Menos + adverb + que noun Joe:Sam Sam es menos sociable que Joe Make sure the adjective agrees in number and gender.

With verbs, the following construction is used to make comparisons of inequality: [ verb ] + más/menos que Juana lee más que yo. Juana reads less than me. Elena estudia menos que Joe Elena studies less than Joe. Comparisons of inequality

Keep in mind… That while English has a comparative form for short adjectives and adverbs (taller, later), in Spanish such forms do not exist (más alto, más tarde). When the comparison is about a numerical expression, de is used before the number instead of que. Hay más de veinticuatro alumnos. Tiene menos de treinta años.

The following formulas are used to make comparisons of equality (both things compared have the same qualitites) tan + adjective + como adverb tanto/a (s) + singular noun + como plural noun Comparisons of equality

The following formulas are used to make comparisons of equality (both things compared have the same qualitites) tan + adjective + como adverb Elena es tan inteligente como Ana. Elena is as inteligente as Ana. Comparisons of equality

Ana tiene tantos años como Elena. Ana is as old as Elena. tanto/a (s) + singular noun + como plural noun Comparisons of equality

¡ATENCIÓN! Note that tanto acts as an adjective and therefore agrees in number and gender with the noun it modifies: tantas cosas. Tan and tanto can also be used for emphasis, rather than to compare, with these meanings: tan so, tanto so much, tantos/as so many.

Comparisons of equality with verbs are formed by placing tanto como after the verb. Note that in this construction tanto does not change in number or gender. [ verb ] + tanto como No corro tanto como tú I don’t run as much as you do. Comparisons of equality

Irregular comparisons and superlatives AdjectiveComparative Form bueno/a good mejor better malo/a bad peor worse grande/a big mayor bigger pequeño/a small menor smaller joven young menor younger viejo/a old mayor older

When grande and pequeño/a refer to age, the irregular comparative and superlative forms, mayor and menor, are used. However, when these adjectives refer to size, the regular forms, más grande and más pequeño/a, are used. Isabel es mayor que tu Isabel is older than you Tu ensalada es más grande que ésa. Your salad is bigger than that one. Yo soy menor que tú. I’m younger than you. Irregular comparatives

The adverbs bien and mal have the same irregular comparative forms as the adjectives bueno/a and malo/a. Julio baila mejor que el chico. Julio dances better than the boy. Ellas dibujan peor que Maria. They draw worse than the other girls. Irregular comparatives and superlatives