1.07 - Escuchemos una conversación/ Comparativos- Estructuras
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Comparatives and Superlatives
Comparatives compare two items. For example: Juan Pablo is taller than Mariana.
Superlatives designate one item as surpassing all others. For example: Juan Pablo is the tallest in his family.
Los comparativos con adjetivos
In this section we will learn how to compare two or more nouns. Let's start with something that you already know: how to use adjectives. Remember that we use the verb ser to describe a noun. Look at the example:
Juan Pablo es alto. Mariana es baja.
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- How could we compare Juan Pablo and Mariana? In English we would say that Juan Pablo is taller than Mariana. In Spanish there is no "er" as in "taller." Therefore, we need to say that Juan Pablo is "more tall" than Mariana. The formula in Spanish is más alto que. For example: Juan Pablo es más alto que Mariana.
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How would we then say that Mariana is shorter than Juan Pablo? We can say she is "less tall." The formula for that is menos alta que.
Mariana es menos alta que Juan Pablo. OR Mariana es más baja que Juan Pablo. -
What if the two nouns are the same size? Look at the following picture:
We want to say that Marcos is as tall as MarÃa, and that MarÃa is as tall as Marcos. For "as tall as," the Spanish language uses tan alto como.
Marcos es tan alto como MarÃa.
MarÃa es tan alta como Marcos.
Why did alto change to alta? Great question! The reason is because MarÃa is feminine.
Let's look at the three formulas that we have learned. Remember that the adjective needs to agree with the noun that it modifies.
| Most /-est | Least |
| el/la/los/las más | el/la/los/la menos |
| + adjective | + adjective |
| + de | + de |
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Comparativos con formas irregulares
There are four adjectives that have irregular comparative forms. Look at the following. Make sure you know these irregular adjectives:
| bueno > |
mejor |
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| malo > | peor | |
| joven > | menor | |
| viejo > | mayor |
Look at the following examples:
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Pedro tiene 15 años. Ana tiene 18 años.
Pedro es menor que Ana. Ana es mayor que Pedro.
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Me gusta la leche pero me gusta más el agua.
Para mÃ, el agua es mejor que la leche. La leche es peor que el agua.
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Los comparativos con adverbios
We basically compare adverbs the same way as we do with adjectives. Look at the following sentences:
Juan Pablo camina lentamente.
Mariana camina rápidamente.
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How could we compare the walk of Juan Pablo and Mariana?
Mariana camina más rápidamente que Juan Pablo.
Juan Pablo camina menos rápidamente que Mariana.
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How would we say that Mariana and Juliana both walk rapidly?
Remember the formula tan + adjective + como? We use the same formula with adverbs, substituting the adverb for the adjective. The new formula would be tan + adverb + como.
Mariana camina tan rápidamente como Juliana.
Superlatives
| El caballo | El elefante | La ballena |
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Look at the above pictures and then read the sentences below.
- La ballena es grande.
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La ballena es más grande que el elefante.
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La ballena es más grande que el caballo también.
Above we compared three animals using the comparative más que formula. Now we want to express that the whale is the biggest of them all. This is called the superlative; use the el más de formula:
Let's try another one.
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Juan Pablo es alto.
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Juan Pablo es más alto que Mariana.
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Andrés es más alto que Mariana y Juan Pablo.
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Andrés es el muchacho más alto de la clase.
In English we are able to omit the noun. We can do the same in Spanish. If you wish to say that Andrés is the tallest, you would say:
Andrés es el más alto.
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