Comparative and superlative adjectives, adverbs, and nouns

1. Comparisons of inequality
In Spanish, inequality is expressed by using one of the following: adjective + adverb + que than noun menos less 1. T eres ms alto que yo. You are taller than I. You are more tall than I. 2. Mnica habla ms lentamente que Carmen. Monica speaks slower than Carmen. Monica speaks more slowly than Carmen. ** If the comparative is followed by a number, use de rather than que. Hay menos de veinte alumnos en la clase. students in the class. There are less than twenty ms more

** Note that when the sentence is negative, que is used even with numbers, to convey the meaning "only." Tengo ms de cinco dlares. No tengo ms que cinco dlares. I have more than five dollars. I only have five dollars.

2. Comparisons of equality
A. To form the comparisons of equality using adjectives or adverbs, use the following: adjective + como as adverb 1. El libro es tan bueno como la pelcula. movie. 2. El chico es tan alto como la chica. tan + as

The book is as good as the The boy is as tall as the girl.

B. To form the comparisons of equality using nouns, use the following: noun=masculine, singular noun=feminine, as tanta + + como as singular much noun=masculine,plural tantos noun=feminine, plural tantas tanto C. When actions (verbs) are being compared, and there is no adjective, use the following formula:

Verb + tanto

as much

+ como as Rosario cooks as much as Sally reads as much as Bob.

1. Rosario cocina tanto como Josefina. Josefina. 2. Sally lee tanto como Bob.

D. When actions (verbs) are being compared, and there is an adjective, use the following: adjective verb + tan + (masculine form) + como

1. Sally trabaja tan duro como Bob. 2. Alberto habla tan lento como Andrs.

Sally work as hard as Bob. Alberto speaks as slow as Andrs.

3. Superlatives
To form the superlative use the following: ms definite + noun + article menos 1. Juan es el chico ms inteligente de la clase. smartest boy in the class. 2. Bill Gates es el hombre ms rico de los EEUU. the richest man in the U.S. 3. Mario es el ms inteligente de todos. intelligent of all. John is the Bill Gates is Mario is the most o + adjective + de

**Notice in the last example, that the noun is omitted. If the meaning is clear from context, the repetition of the noun is not needed. ** de can be translated as "in" or "of"

4. Irregular comparative forms

A. The following adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms: ADJECTIVE ADVERB COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE bueno (good) bien (well) mejor el (la) mejor mal malo (bad) peor el (la) peor

grande (big) pequeo (small)

(badly)

mayor menor

el (la) mayor el (la) menor

B. When the adjectives grande and pequeo refer to size, the regular comparatives forms are used. Tu clase es ms grande que la de Antonio. Antonio's. Your class is bigger than

C. When these adjectives refer to age, the irregular comparative forms mayor and menor are used. Simone es mayor que Stephen. Sierra es menor que Stephen. Stephen. Simone is older than Stephen. Sierra is younger than