Unit 28 (Unidad 28)
Comparatives and superlatives
(Los comparativos y superlativos)
Level 1
1.1 Comparison of adjectives indicating inequality and equality (Comparaci
´
on de
adjetivos indicando desigualdad e igualdad)
1.2 Comparison of adverbs indicating equality and inequality (Comparaci
´
on de
adverbios indicando igualdad y desigualdad)
1.3 Superlatives + adjectives (Superlativos + adjetivos)
1.4 Other features (Otros detalles)
1.1 Comparison of adjectives indicating inequality
and equality
i The comparison of adjectives is formed by using m´as (more) and menos (less) before
the adjective. Que (than) is used after the adjective.
Examples
Carlos es m´as r´apido que t´u Carlos is faster than you
Este chico es m´as listo que su hermano This boy is smarter than his brother
Son menos ruidosos que las muchachas They are less noisy than the girls
Es un hotel menos tranquilo que el otro It’s a less quiet hotel than the other one
negro / m´as negro / menos negro black / blacker / less black
capaz / m´as capaz / menos capaz capable / more capable / less capable
ii Four adjectives, in addition to their regular comparatives, have other, and, in two
cases, preferred, forms:
Positive Comparative
bueno (good) mejor (better)
malo (bad) peor (worse)
grande (big, large) mayor (bigger, larger)

comparative:
Son los m´as inteligentes They are the most intelligent
Este hotel es el m´as caro de la ciudad This hotel is the dearest in town
Este es el peor jugador del equipo This is the worst player in the team
El tiempo que hace es el mejor del a˜no Theweather is the best this year
ii De follows a superlative in cases where in English we would have in:
Te xas es el estado m´as extenso de los Estados Unidos Texas is the biggest state in the United
States
El Nilo es el r´ıo m´as largo del mundo The Nile is the longest river in the world
1.4 Other features
i Frequently, menos is replaced by no + tan + adjective or adverb + como:
No es tan alto como su hermana He’s not so tall as his sister
No trabaja tan seriamente como yo He doesn’t work as seriously as me
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28 Comparatives and superlatives
ii M´as de and menos de are used before quantities and numbers:
Hay m´as de un mill´on de libros en aquella biblioteca There are more than a million books in
that library
¿Por qu´e compras menos de dos kilos? Why do you buy less than two kilos?
iii Tanto . . . como, with its three other forms (tanta / tantos / tantas . . . como), as much /
many . . . as,isused with equality of nouns:
No tengo tanto pan como Jorge Ihaven’t got as much bread as Jorge
No traes tantos discos como Elena Yo u don’t bring as many discs as Elena
Hay tanta mantequilla como en casa There’s as much butter as at home
Tienes tantas cucharas como yo Yo uhaveasmany spoons as me
Exercises
Level 1
i Make three separate sentences from the two available. Follow the example
Juan disfruta mucho. Armando disfruta poco > 1. Armando disfruta menos que Juan +
2. Juan disfruta m´as que Armando + 3. Armando no disfruta tanto como Juan

A: ¿Eres m´as listo que yo?
B: No soy tan listo como t ´u
A: ¿Mi hermana es menos inteligente que yo?
B: Tu hermana no es tan inteligente como t´u
Level 2
2.1 Como = like or as in English (Como = ...)
2.2 Que replaced by de lo que (Que reemplazado por...)
2.3 Cuanto ...tanto
2.4 Superlatives of adverbs (Superlativos de adverbios)
2.5 Absolute superlative of adjectives (Superlativo absoluto de adjetivos)
2.6 Absolute superlative of adverbs (Superlativo absoluto de adverbios)
2.1 Como = like or as in English
Corre como un conejo She runs like a rabbit
Lucha como un tigre He fights like a tiger
Hazlo como lo quieras Do it as you wish
2.2 Que replaced by de lo que
i When each part of the comparison contains a different verb, que is replaced by de lo
que:
Es menos f´acil de lo que dice It’s less easy than he says
El examen fue m´as dif´ıcil de lo que hab´ıamos temido Theexamination was more difficult than
we had feared
Es m´as tonto de lo que parece He’s dumber than he looks
ii This is also true with nouns:
Tiene menos dinero de lo que dice She has less money than she says
Ha cometido m´as delitos de lo que piensas He’s committed more crimes than you
think
2.3 Cuanto ...tanto
i Cuanto ...tanto followed by any comparative are used in correlatives to express
ratio, corresponding to the English the...the:
Cuanto m´as viejo es el vino, tanto mejor The older the wine, the better it is

ii The following distinctions are to be observed in the formation of the absolute
superlative of adjectives:
aIfthe positive adjective ends in a consonant, it receives -
´
ısimo without changing,
unless the final consonant is z,which changes to c before i:
h´abil/h´abil´ısimo skillful / most skillful
feliz/felic´ısimo happy / very happy
feroz/feroc´ısimo fierce / most fierce
bAfinal vowel or diphthong is omitted before -
´
ısimo. When the adjective ends in two
vowels, as in io, both are omitted, although it could be maintained that the i remains
butreceives a written accent, and therefore a spoken stress.
importante/important´ısimo important / most important
limpio/limp´ısimo clean / very clean
sucio/suc´ısimo dirty / very dirty
amplio/ampl´ısimo wide / widest, full/fullest
pobre/pobr´ısimo poor / very poor
Ejemplos
una rec´amara (M) ampl´ısima avery spacious bedroom
una mujer pobr´ısima avery poor woman
Tiene manos limp´ısimas She’s got very clean hands
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