Comparative clauses are used to - how the name already
says - compare things. They tell us how one thing is
in quality or quantity related to another thing. They
can be superior, they subordinated or equal. A comparison
can be done with nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
Noun
He has more
money than
you do.
He has less
money than you do.
He has as much money
as you do.
Adjective
He is richer
than you are.
He is poorer than
you are.
He is asrichas you are.
Adverbs
He runs fasterthan you do.
He runs more slowly
than you do.
He runs as fast as
you do.
Superlative
The superlative
goes one step further. It compares one fact
not to only one other fact but to ALL other
fact.
He is the
richest man (of all men).
He is the richest of
all.
He runs the fastest.
I. The Spanish comparative
Ia Equality = ... tan (tanto) + adjective
(+noun) / adverb + como ....
Él
es tan grande como ella. <=>He is as tall as she is.
Ellos
son tan ricos como Ustedes.<=>They are as rich as you are.
Vosotros
sois tan testarudos como ellos.<=>You are as stubborn as they are.
Él
es tan rico como ella. = He is as rich as she is.
Él corre tan rápido como ella. = He runs as fast as she does.
Nosotros tenemos tanto dinero como vosotros. = We have as
much money as you have.
En España hay tantos coches como en Inglaterra. = In Spain there are as many cars as in England.
Ib Superiority = ... más (más)
+ adjective (+noun) / adverb + que ....
Él
es más grande que ella.<=> He is taller than she is.
Ellos
son más ricos que Ustedes.<=> They are richer than you are.
Vosotros
sois más testarudos que ellos.<=>You are more stubborn that they are.
Él
es más rico que ella. = He is richer than she is.
Él corre más rápido que ella. = He runs faster than she does.
Nosotros tenemos más dinero que Ustedes. = We have more money than
you have.
En Alemania
hay más coches que en Inglaterra.
= In Spain there are
more cars than in England.
Ic Subordination = ... menos (menos)
+ adjective (+noun) / adverb + que ....
Él
es menos grande que ella. <=> He is less tall than she is (he is not as
tall as she is, he is smaller than she)
Ellos
son menos ricos que Ustedes.<=>
They are less rich than you (they are not
as rich as you are, they are poorer than you
are)
Vosotros
sois menos testarudos que ellos.<=>
You are less stubborn than they are
(you are
not as stubborn as they are, you are more
understanding than they are)
Él
es menos rico que ella.
= He is less rich than she is
(he is not as rich as she is, he is poorer
than she is)
Él corre menos rápido que ella. = He runs less fast than she
does
(he doesn't run as fast as she does,
he runs more slowly than she does)
Nosotros
tenemos menos dinero que Ustedes. = We have less money than
you have.
En
Alemania hay menos coches que en Inglaterra.
= In Deutschland are less
cars than in England.
As it is easily to be seen the comparative is the same no matter
whether it is a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
II Superlative
The superlative indicates the quantitative or qualitative
superiority of one object in comparison to a reference
group.
The reference group is to be mentioned!
He is the
greatest (of all).
He runs the fastest among his group.
He is the richest man in town.
IIa Relative superlative in superiority
= ... el / la + más + adjective (+noun) /
adverb +de
Es
el hombre más rico de todos. = He is the richest of all.
Es el coche más
rapido de la ciudad. = This is the
fastest car in town.
Es la mujer más
guapa que he visto jamás. = She is
the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
IIb Relative superlative with subordination
= ... el / la + menos + adjective (+noun) / adverb
+de
De
todos estos chicos él es el menos arrogante.
= Of all the boys he is the least arrogant.
III. Elative
Is the superlative used without mentioning a reference
group it is called elative. Just another name for something
that looks quite the same. Point here is that it is
used to emphasise something rather than compare.
Elative
His brother
is the coolest!
His brother is very cool.
Mom is the greatest!
Mom is really great.
In Spanish the superlative is only used to compare.
Therefore the emphasis is put in other ways.
IIIa Formation of the elative with an
adverb (muy, sumamente etc.)
Ella
es muy guapa. = She is very beautiful.
Vosotros sois muy gordos.= You are very big
IIIb Formation of the elative with ísimo
The elative
can be formed with ísimo
by taking the adjective ending -o/-a away
and appending the ísimo.
If the adjective ends on a consonant the
ísimo
is appended without changing the adjective.
Again please remember that adjectives -
no matter which ending - are changed according
to the gender and number of the noun referred
to. The ending puts an extra emphasis on
the adjective - it can be translated with
really very (or something similar).
Este
coche es carísimo. = This care is really very expensive.
Estos coches son carísimos.= These cars are really very expensive.
Esta casa es carísima. = This house is really expensive.
Estas casas son carísimas.= These houses are really expensive.
Este ejercicio es
dificilísimo.= This exercise is really difficult.
Estos ejercicios son
dificilísimos.= These exercises are really difficult.
