Las comparaciones
Sentences which
compare a trait or a
noun.
There are two different types
of comparison sentences:
EQUALITY and INEQUALITY.
In Spanish 1, we focus on
INEQUALITY only.
Comparisons of INEQUALITY
are “-ER” types of words.
SMARTER
BIGGER
MORE PRACTICAL
LESS FUN
TALLER
MORE
ORGANIZED
PRETTIER
• I am more daring than she
is..
• Mari is smarter than Lupe.
• Jorge y Paco are less lazy
than their sisters.
• We are less serious than Abel.
Pause for practice…
Actividad I
Because we are comparing
TRAITS, the verb SER is
usually used. After all, SER is
used for physical descriptions
and personality traits.
When making TRAIT
comparisons of inequality,
más … que
is used to say “more than”.
The más and the que are
separated by an adjective.
• Las chicas son más bajas
que el profesor.
• The girls are shorter than the
teacher.
• Alberto es más ordenado
que su hermano.
• Albert is more organized
than his brother.
When comparing a TRAIT, the
adjective will agree in number
and gender with the
SUBJECT ON THE LEFT, not
the object on the right.
Alberto es más ordenado
que su hermano.
Las chicas son más bajas que
el profesor.
When making TRAIT
comparisons of inequality,
menos … que
is used to say “less than”.
The menos and the que are
separated by an adjective.
• Mi perro es menos feo que tu
perro.
• My dog is less ugly than your
dog.
• Ustedes son menos
reservados que los niños.
• You all are less shy than
the children.
Pause for practice…
Actividades II and III
Más / Menos … que
can also be used
when comparing a
noun.
• Ella tiene más zapatos que
yo.
• She has more shoes than
me.
• Mi profesor califica menos
exámenes que tu profesora.
• My teacher grades less
exams than your teacher.
Practice!!! How do you say…?
•
•
•
•
•
•
more tall than
less lazy than
less daring than
more hard-working than
less social than
more talented than
How did you do?
•
•
•
•
•
•
más alto/-a que
menos perezoso/ -a que
menos atrevido/ -a que
más trabajador/-ora que
menos sociable que
más talentoso/ -a que
Pause for practice…
Actividades IV and V
There are additional phrases
you can use to make
comparisons. These phrases
are…
• Mejor que
• Peor que
• Mayor que
• Menor que
• Better than
• Worse than
• Older than
• Younger than
You will never use “bueno”, “malo”, “viejo”
nor “joven” in a comparison phrase.
• Mountain View es mejor que
Mesa.
• Mountain View is better than
Mesa.
• Mi horario es peor que tu
horario.
• My schedule is worse than
your schedule.
• Soy mayor que ustedes.
• I am older than you all.
• Ustedes son MENORES que
yo.
• You all are younger than me.
What changed about “menor”? Why?
Practice!!!
•
•
•
•
How do you say…?
I swim better than you.
We sing worse than Beyonce.
They are older than me.
My dog, Maverick, is younger
than my dog, Jasper.
How did you do?
• Nado mejor que tú.
• Cantamos peores que
Beyonce.
• Ellos son mayores que yo.
• Mi perro, Maverick, es menor
que mi perro, Jasper.
Pause for practice…
Actividad VI
Try to practice on your own with the
comparisons of INEQUALITY (Actividad VII):
Susi sings worse than Marco.
Susi canta _____ _____
Marco.
Using the computer is easier
than writing.
Usar la computadora es _____
_____ _____ escribir.
The house is bigger than the
car.
La casa es _____ _____ _____
el carro.
Echo is less intelligent than
Maverick.
Echo es _____ _____ _____
Maverick.
There are more students than
there are teachers.
Hay _____ _____ _____ hay
profesores.
How did you do?
Susi canta peor que Marco.
Usar la computadora es más fácil que
escribir.
La casa es más grande que el carro.
Echo es menos inteligente que
Maverick.
Hay más estudiantes que hay
profesores.
But wait!
There’s more!
We need to talk about
SUPERLATIVES.
To say really, very or extremely, use the
ending
This ending indicates that the noun has a
high degree of the trait, but not necessarily
the highest degree. It translates to “really”,
“very” or “extremely”.
This suffix will agree in number and gender
with the noun it modifies.
very tall buildings
extremely handsome
boy
really funny teacher
very lazy students
really talented dog
extremely tasty
hamburger
 edificios altísimos
 chico guapísimo
 profesora graciosísima
 estudiantes perezosísimos
 perro talentosísimo
 hamburguesa sabrosísima
There are some spelling changes that take place:
Z>C
C > QU
G > GU
Feliz
Felizísimo
Felicísimo
Rica
Ricísima
Riquísima
Largos
Largísimos
Larguísimos
There’s another way to express a
superlative.
These phrases indicate the
HIGHEST DEGREE of a
characteristic.
Superlatives are “-EST” types of
words.
SMARTEST
BIGGEST
MOST PRACTICAL
LEAST FUN
TALLEST
MOST
ORGANIZED
PRETTIEST
This is an easy formula to remember:
Definite
Article
NOUN
más OR
menos
ADJECTIVE
el, la, los, las
The adjective in the phrase will agree in number and
gender with the NOUN.
As always, there are irregulars:
• Def Art + Mejor
• Def Art + Peor
• Def Art + Mayor
•
•
•
• Def Art + Menor •
(The) Best
(The) Worst
(The) Oldest
(The) Youngest
Just like with comparisons, these expressions
are made plural when the noun is plural.
Practice! ¿Cóme se dice…?





the
the
the
the
the
worst class
ugliest girl
best movies
oldest (female) cousin
least favorite book
Se dice…





la peor clase
la chica más fea
las mejores películas
la mayor prima
el libro menos favorito
¿Comprendes?
Si no comprendes, ¿qué
debes hacer?
If you don’t understand,
what should you do?