Comparaciones de igualdad

What grammatical structures do we use to compare two people or things that have equal or similar qualities? In English we use the formula “as” + adjective/adverb + “as.” Here are the formula and some examples in Spanish:

Tan + (adjetivo/adverbio) + como

From an ad campaign for Spain: “España: Tan singular como plural”

• Un enfermero es tan importante como un médico. (A nurse is as important as a doctor.)
• Gina Rodríguez actúa tan bien como America Ferrera. (Gina Rodriguez acts just as well as America Ferrera.)

Spanish and English follow a similar pattern for adjectives and adverbs but comparing nouns is different. The formula is similar, but now instead of “tan” we use the word “tanto”. “Tanto” is functioning as an adjective and as we learned in Unidad 2, adjectives need to agree in gender and in number with the nouns that they modify. Therefore, the formula is as follows:

• El músico tiene tantos instrumentos como el cantante. (The musician has as many instruments as the singer.)
• El ingeniero tiene tantas máquinas como el mecánico. (The engineer has as many machines as the mechanic.)
• El trabajador social tiene tanta paciencia como el psicólogo. (The social worker has as much patience as the psychologist.)

To compare two actions, the structure is simply:

(Verbo) + tanto como

• Yo corro tanto como un futbolista. (I run as much as a soccer player.)
• Los bomberos se sientan a esperar tanto como apagan incendios. (Firefighters sit around waiting as much as they fight fires.)

Comparaciones de desigualdad

In English, we typically add “-er” to an adjective and combine it with the word “than” to make unequal comparisons between two items. But if we have an adjective with more than two syllables in English we have to add “more.”

This is similar to Spanish where you always add “más” (more) in front of the adjective, the quality that is the point of comparison. However, we do not need to limit ourselves to saying “más”, we can also use “menos”. And instead of “than” we’ll use “que”. ¡Ojo! There’s no accent mark on “que” in comparisons, these are not questions. Therefore, the formula for comparisons of inequality is as follows:

más + (adjective) + que
menos + (adjective) + que

As always, there are no hard-and-fast grammar rules: there are some irregular adjectives when making comparisons.

joven: menor (younger)
viejo: mayor (older)

Ejemplos:

• Eva Longoria es más baja que Jennifer Lopez. (Eva Longoria is shorter than Jennifer Lopez.)
• Camila Cabello es menor que mi hermano menor. (Camila Cabello is younger than my younger brother.)

The same formula works for adverbs as well in comparisons of inequality:

más + (adverb) + que
menos + (adverb) + que

And of course, there are some “irregular” adverbs when making comparisons.

bien:  mejor (better)
mal:  peor (worse)

Ejemplos:

• Yo ahorro dinero más lentamente que mi hermana. (I save money slower than my sister.)
• Esa peluquera me corta el pelo peor que mi mamá. (That hairdresser cuts my hair worse than my mother.)

Nouns are compared in the same way:

más + (noun) + que
menos + (noun) + que

Ejemplos:

• Rita Moreno tiene más premios que Sofía Vergara. (Rita Moreno has more awards than Sofia Vergara.)
• La enfermera estudia menos años que la médica. (The nurse studies for fewer years than the doctor.)

For inequality with verbs, be sure to switch the order of the words, as below:

verbo + más que
verbo + menos que

Ejemplos:

• Ella camina más que yo. (She walks more than I do.)
• La secretaria cobra menos que la abogada. (The secretary charges less than the lawyer.)

When we compare nouns with numbers, using the number as a reference point for the more or less statement, we switch the “que” to “de”.

más de + número
menos de + número

Ejemplos:

• Cristiano Ronaldo debe tener más de 10.000 zapatos. (Cristiano Ronaldo should have more than 10,000 shoes.)
• No puedo comprarlo, tengo menos de 10 dólares. (I can’t buy it, I have less than 10 dollars.)