María es más alta que tú: the comparative form of adjectives.
n a previous article, we saw descriptive adjectives in Spanish, their grammatical genders, their plurals, and their usage. In this article, we will look at another function of adjectives, also very common in the language: the comparative form of adjectives. This is an important topic and not too difficult to understand, although, as we will see, there are some irregular forms when forming comparatives. Let's go!
The comparative form of adjectives is used to compare qualities between two nouns, which can be people, animals, objects, abstract concepts, etc. There are basically three types of comparison: superiority, which indicates that a quality is greater in one noun than in the other; inferiority, which indicates that a quality is lesser in one noun than in the other; and equality, which indicates that both nouns possess the quality to the same degree. Let’s see how they are formed.
Superioridad: más + adjetivo + que.
These constructions typically use the verb ser and involve two nouns. The adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun that is the grammatical subject of the sentence, meaning the noun that “performs” the action of being something and is compared to another.
María es más alta que Pedro. María es más alta que todos los hombres. María is taller than Pedro. María is taller than all men.
Estas naranjas son más dulces que esas. Mi naranja es más dulce que las tuyas. These oranges are sweeter than those. My orange is sweeter than yours.
El libro es más interesante que la película. Los libros son más complicados que las películas. The book is more interesting than the movie. Books are more complicated than movies.
Inferioridad: menos + adjetivo + que.
Just like comparisons of superiority, those of inferiority are usually constructed with the verb ser, and the adjective again agrees with the grammatical subject. Unlike the comparison of superiority, the comparison of inferiority indicates that the intensity of the adjective is lesser in the grammatical subject. Let’s see it with the same examples:
María es menos alta que Pedro. María es menos alta que todos los hombres. María is less tall than Pedro. María is less tall than all men.
Estas naranjas son menos dulces que esas. Mi naranja es menos dulce que las tuyas. These oranges are less sweet than those. Mi orange is less sweet than yours.
El libro es menos interesante que la película. Los libros son menos complicados que las películas. The book is less interesting than the film. The books are less complicated than the films.
From the above, we can conclude that there are several ways to express the same idea. For example, I can say that el Aconcagua es más bajo que el Everest (Aconcagua is shorter than Everest), that el Aconcagua es menos alto que el Everest (Aconcagua is less tall than Everest), that el Everest es más alto que el Aconcagua (Everest is taller than Aconcagua), or that el Everest es menos bajo que el Aconcagua (Everest is less short than Aconcagua), and the message is objectively the same: Everest has more meters of height, Aconcagua has fewer. So, which option should we choose? In general, when talking about something quantitative and measurable, the comparison of superiority is used. That is, in the case of mountains, the most naturally used phrase would be “el Everest es más alto que el Aconcagua”. And since it’s something quantitative, if we want to emphasize Aconcagua’s lower height, the phrase that would sound more natural would be “el Aconcagua es más bajo que el Everest”, meaning the comparative of superiority but with the opposite adjective. However, if we want to emphasize, for example, a subjectively negative quality, we would choose the comparison of inferiority, like in “Estas naranjas son menos dulces que esas” (These oranges are less sweet than those). The subjective load is strong, and like many other things when learning a foreign language, the choice of the option that sounds most natural is acquired through practice.
Equality: Comparatives of equality express that both nouns have a quality with the same intensity. Like the previous ones, they are usually constructed with the verb ser, and the adjective agrees in gender and number with the grammatical subject. However, in this case, there are two common constructions, and their usage will depend on the variety of Spanish. Let’s look at both using the same examples as before.
Tan + adjetivo + como.
María es tan alta como Pedro. María es tan alta como todos los hombres. María is as tall as Pedro. María is as tall as all men.
Estas naranjas son tan dulces como esas. Mi naranja es tan dulce como las tuyas. These oranges are as sweet as those. My orange is as sweet as yours.
El libro es tan interesante como la película. Los libros son tan interesantes como las películas. The book is as interesting as the film. The books are as interesting as the films.
Igual de + adjetivo + que.
María es igual de alta que Pedro. María es igual de alta que todos los hombres. Same translation.
Estas naranjas son igual de dulces que esas. Mi naranja es igual de dulce que las tuyas. Same translation.
El libro es igual de interesante que la película. Los libros son igual de complicados que las películas. Same translation.
In my variety of Spanish, Rioplatense, the second option is used in spoken language, and the first one, personally, and I’m sure for most speakers of this variety, sounds literary. But as I always advise when asked which one to learn and which not, in reference to this particular topic and also others, from my point of view, the best option is to learn everything. If you learn everything, you understand everything, and also, you have an easier chance of adapting to potential interlocutors, styles, etc.
Irregular adjectives.
There are some adjectives that, when used in the comparative form, have irregular forms. In these cases, the irregular form is used without adding más (more) or menos (less). They vary in singular and plural but are the same in both grammatical genders. Let’s see some examples.
Bueno: mejor. Good, better. Este restaurante es mejor que aquel. (This restaurant is better than that one.) Estos restaurantes son mejores que aquellos. (These restaurants are better than those.) Esta nadadora es mejor que esa. (This swimmer is better than that one.) Estas nadadoras son mejores que esas. (These swimmers are better than those.)
Malo: peor. Bad, worse. Él es peor que tú en matemáticas. (He is worse than you in math.) Ellos son peores que ustedes en matemáticas. (They are worse than you in math.) La tormenta de ayer fue peor que la de la semana pasada. (Yesterday’s storm was worse than last week’s.) Las tormentas de este año fueron peores que las del año pasado. (The storms this year were worse than last year’s.)
Joven: menor. Él es menor que yo. (He is younger than me.) Mis primos son todos menores que mi hermana. (My cousins are all younger than my sister.) Mi madre es menor que tu abuelo. (My mother is younger than your grandfather.) Mis hermanas son menores que tú. (My sisters are younger than you.)
Viejo: (in reference only to age) mayor. Yo soy mayor que mi hermana. (I am older than my sister.) Ellos son mayores que nosotros. (They are older than us.) Mi tía es mayor que mi madre. (My aunt is older than my mother.) ¿Tus hermanas son mayores que tú? (Are your sisters older than you?)
In spoken language, and always depending on the variety of Spanish being used, these comparatives may not be used. That is, you might hear expressions like más/menos malo (worse), más/menos joven (younger), etc.
Comparison of quantities.
When we compare the quantity of something against a number, there are some changes in the constructions. In this case, in addition to the constructions with ser, constructions with hay, the impersonal form of the verb haber, and with tener are also common.
Superioridad: más de + número.
Hay más de 40.000 personas en el estadio. There are more than 40,000 people in the stadium.
Ellos son más de 10 personas. They are more than 10 people.
Tengo más de dos lápices. I have more than two pencils.
Inferioridad: menos de + número.
Hay menos de 40.000 personas en el estadio. There are fewer than 40,000 people in the stadium.
Ellos son menos de 10 personas. They are fewer than 10 people.
Tengo menos de dos lápices. I have fewer than two pencils.
Equality: tanto/a, tantos/as + noun + como. Tanto agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to and means the same amount or intensity of something.
Hace tanto calor como el año pasado. It’s as hot as last year.
Tengo tantos lápices como tú. I have as many pencils as you.
Tengo tanta energía como ayer. I have as much energy as yesterday.
Hay tantas personas como ayer en el estadio. There are as many people as yesterday in the stadium.
Negative Forms.
Finally, something very easy! For negative expressions, it’s enough to add “no” before the verb, in any of the cases.
María no es menos alta que Pedro. María no es menos alta que todos los hombres. María isn’t less tall than Pedro. María isn’t less tall as all men.
Estas naranjas no son menos dulces que esas. Mi naranja no es menos dulce que las tuyas. These oranges aren’t less sweet than those. My orange isn’t less sweet than yours.
Este restaurante no es mejor que aquel. Estos restaurantes no son mejores que aquellos. This restaurant isn’t better than that one. These restaurants aren’t better than those ones.
No hay más de 40.000 personas en el estadio. There aren’t more than 40.000 people in the stadium.
I love pragmatics, so I would include a few paragraphs continuing on this topic, talking about sentence order, which is very flexible in Spanish, and subjective meanings. But reviewing the article, I think this is enough information for now. Here are some exercises to practice this topic. Thanks for reading!
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