Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between two things. In Spanish, you can say someone or something is more, less, or as ___ as another.
Types of Comparisons
More… than (más… que)
Used to say something has a higher degree of a quality.
- Ella esmás alta quesu hermano.
- This means: She is taller than her brother.
Less… than (menos… que)
Used to say something has a lower degree of a quality.
- El coche esmenos rápido queel avión.
- This means: The car is less fast than the plane.
As… as (tan… como)
Used to say two things are equal in a quality.
- Carlos estan inteligente comoAna.
- This means: Carlos is as intelligent as Ana.
Grammar Rules
Placement
- The adjective comes aftermás,menos, ortan.
- The wordque(than) orcomo(as) follows the adjective.
Agreement
- Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.
- Example: Ella es másalta(feminine singular).
- Example: Ellos son másaltos(masculine plural).
Sentence Structure
- + [verb] + [más/menos/tan] + [adjective] + [que/como] + [comparison].
Special Comparisons
Better, worse, older, younger
Spanish has irregular comparatives for some common adjectives:
These do not follow themás/menosrule and are used on their own.
As… as (tanto… como) – for nouns
To compare equality with nouns, usetanto(s)/tanta(s) … como.
- Tienetantapacienciacomosu madre.
- Ellos tienentantoslibroscomonosotros.
Examples
Summary
- Usemás… queto say “more… than.”
- Usemenos… queto say “less… than.”
- Usetan… comoto say “as… as” (for adjectives).
- Usetanto(s)/tanta(s) … comoto say “as much/many… as” (for nouns).
- Remember adjective agreement in gender and number.
- Learn irregular comparatives:mejor,peor,mayor,menor.
- Follow the correct word order: subject + verb + (más/menos/tan) + adjective + (que/como) + comparison.
Comparative adjectives help you describe differences and similarities clearly in Spanish.
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Last updated: Thu Jul 17, 2025