Spanish 4.1. Degrees of Comparison

Level I 1. Alphabet & Pronunciation 1.1. Syllable Stress 2. Similarities to English 2.1. Plural 2.2. Negation 2.3. Punctuation & Written Accents 3. Cardinal Numbers 4. Subject Personal Pronouns 5. Present Indicative Tense I 6. The Articles 7. Prepositions 8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives 9. Basic Phrases Level II 1. Gender of Nouns & Adjectives 2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs 3. The Verb “To Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar” 4. Future Tense 5. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns 6. Demonstrative Adjectives & Pronouns 7. Object Personal Pronouns 7.1. Combining Direct & Indirect Object Personal Pronouns 8. Relative Pronouns 9. Ordinal Numbers I 10. Times & Seasons Level III 1. Verbs Like “Gustar” 2. “Por” vs. “Para” 3. The Verb “To Know”: “Saber” vs. “Conocer” 4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns 5. Present Progressive Tense 6. Present Perfect Tense 7. Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener” 8. Telling Time & Describing Weather 9. Adverbs 9.1. The Adverbs “Tan,” “Solo,” “También,” “Tampoco,” “Vez,” & “Veces” 9.2. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases 10. Directions Level IV 1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives 2. Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect 3. Conjunctions 4. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs 5. The Verb “Soler” 6. Time Expressions: Todavía, Aún, Ya, Hace, Acabar, & Desde 7. Present Subjunctive Tense I 8. Personal “a” 9. Future Perfect Tense Level V 1. Irregular Verbs in The Preterite 2. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands 3. Expressions of Pain & Illness 4. Simple Conditional Tense 5. Present Subjunctive Tense II 6. Perfect Subjunctive Tense 7. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense 8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses 9. Interjections Level VI 1. Ordinal Numbers II 2. “Would/Should/Could Have …” 3. Pluperfect Indicative Tense 4. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense 5. Use of “Aunque,” “Si Bien,” and “A Pesar de” 6. Verbs of Change 7. Reflexive Passive, Impersonal, & Accidental “Se” 8. Diminutives & Augmentatives 9. Use of “Vos” in Some Spanish-Speaking Countries 10. Uses of “Ojalá” in Spanish
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In this lesson, we will examine different degrees of comparison of nouns, indicating their equality, inequality, or the extreme degree of an adjective in Spanish. We will study the comparison of equality, comparison of inequality, and superlatives.

Comparison of Equality

The two most common expressions in this category are:

1. tan + (adjective/adverb) + como …      as (adjective/adverb) as …

Este auto es tan caro como una casa.This car is as expensive as a house.
Ella es tan alta como su hermana.She is as tall as her sister.
Él habla tan claro como un profesor.He speaks as clearly as a teacher.

2. tanto/-a + (noun) + como …             as much/many (noun) as …

Él tiene tanto dinero como un millonario.He has as much money as amillionaire.
Hay tanta gente acá como en Londres.           There are as many people here as in London.

Comparison of Inequality

The following formula is used to express inequality when comparing two adjectives, adverbs, or nouns:

más/menos … que …                              more/less … than …

For example:

Ella es más alta que su hermana.       She is taller than her sister.
Él habla más claro que un profesor.He speaks more clearly than a teacher.
Él tiene más dinero que el presidente.He has more money than the president.
Somos menos ricos que nuestros padres.We are less rich than our parents.
Él habla menos claro que un profesor.He speaks less clearly than a teacher.
Él tiene menos paciencia que mi hermano.He has less patience than my brother.

There are a few exceptions to the above formula:

buenogoodmejorbetter
malobadpeorworse
viejooldmayorolder
jovenyoungmenoryounger
grandelargemayorlarger
pequeño smallmenorsmaller

It is also common to hear “más grande” and “más pequeño” in a less formal speech, which mean “larger/older” and “smaller/younger,” respectively.

Superlatives

There are two ways to express the large or extreme degrees of an adjective.

Relative Superlatives

el/la/los/las + más/menos + (adjective)the + most/least + (adjective)

Inserting a noun between the definite article “el/la/los/las” and “más/menos” is optional.

Ella es la más inteligente de su clase.She is the most intelligent in her class.
Somos los menos afectados por la crisis.We are the least affected by the crisis.
Es el tema más importante en el país.This is the most important topic in the country.
Es el político menos corrupto del parlamento.He is the least corrupt politician in the parliament.

The same exceptions used in the comparison of inequality still apply here.

buenogoodmejorbest
malbadpeorworst
viejooldmayoroldest
jovenyoungmenoryoungest
grandelargemayorlargest
pequeño smallmenorsmallest

Absolute Superlatives

One can express an absolute superlative by simply preceding the adjective with an adverb such as “muy” (very) or “extremamente/sumamente” (extremely). For example:

Este estadio está muy frío.This stadium is very cold.
El café está sumamente caliente.The coffee is extremely hot.

Another way is to use a prefix like “super-” or “re-,” for example:

Este estadio está superfrío.This stadium is super cold.
El café está recaliente. The coffee is super-hot.

Absolute Superlatives with “-ísimo” Ending

Another common way to express absolute superlatives is by using adjectives ending in “-ísimo” for masculine or “-ísima” for masculine, translated as “very,” “quite,” or “extremely.” It is usually constructed by removing the vowel at the end of the adjective (if it exists) and attaching the suffix “-ísimo.”

grandelargegrandísimoextremely large
muchomuch/manymuchísimotoo much/many
buenogoodbuenísimoreally good
pequeñosmallpequeñísimotiny
calientehotcalientísimo [1]extremely hot
[1] Both the regular form “calientísimo” and the irregular form “calentísimo” are acceptable.

Adjectives ending with “g,” which sounds like “get,” or “c,” which sounds like “cold,” undergo orthographic change to maintain the same pronunciation.

amargobitteramarguísimoextremely bitter
frescofreshfresquísimoextremely fresh

Adjectives ending with “z” undergo an orthographic change that replaces “z” with “c.”

felizhappyfelicísimoextremely happy

Adjectives ending with “-ble” must change the suffix to “-bil” before adding “-ísimo.”

amablekindamabilísimoextremely kind
miserablemiserablemiserabilísimoextremely miserable

Some adjectives ending with “-n” take the suffix “-císimo” instead of “-ísimo.”

jovenyoungjovencísimoextremely young

Many qualitative adjectives ending with “-ro,” “-ra,” or “-re” take the suffix “-érrimo” instead of “-ísimo.”

íntegrofull wholeintegérrimoextremely full
ásperoharshaspérrimoextremely harsh
míseromeagermisérrimoextremely meager
librefreelibérrimoextremely free
salubrehealthysalubérrimoextremely healthy

Other adjectives are completely irregular.

amigofriendamicísimo [2]extremely friendly
antiguoancientantiquísimoextremely ancient
fielfaithfulfidelísimoextremely faithful
sabiowisesapientísimoextremely wise
sagradosacredsacratísimoextremely sacred
simplesimplesimplicísimoextremely simple
[2] A more common alternative form is “amiguísimo.”

Quiz: Degrees of Comparison in Spanish

Spanish: Degrees of Comparison

1 / 15

1. The stadium is super cold. (cold = frío)

Use the prefix "super-":

SP: Este estadio está .

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

2 / 15

2. She is the most intelligent in her class.

SP: Ella es  inteligente de su clase.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

3 / 15

3. She is as tall as her sister.

SP: Ella es alta  su hermana.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

4 / 15

4. She is taller than her sister.

SP: Ella es  alta su hermana.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

5 / 15

5. He has less patience than my brother.

SP: Él tiene paciencia  mi hermano.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

6 / 15

6. bueno (good)

(better)

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

7 / 15

7. He is the least corrupt politician in the parliament.

SP: Es político  corrupto del parlamento.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

8 / 15

8. He has as much money as a millionaire.

SP: Él tiene  dinero  un millonario.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

9 / 15

9. We are the least affected by the crisis.

SP: Somos  afectados por la crisis.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

10 / 15

10. He is more emotional than it is accurate

SP: Su discurso es emotivo  preciso.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

11 / 15

11. This is the most important topic in the country.

SP: Es  tema importante en el país.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

12 / 15

12. He has more money than the president.

SP: Él tiene  dinero el presidente.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

13 / 15

13. The absolute superlative can be constructed by removing the vowel at the end of the adjective (if it exists) and attaching the suffix “-ísimo.”

For example, the absolute superlative of "bueno" is .

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

14 / 15

14. The coffee is extremely hot.

SP: El café está  caliente.

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

15 / 15

15. mal (bad)

(worse)

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

Your score is

The average score is 0%

0%

Thank you for taking the quiz!

Next: Past Tense: Preterite & Imperfect

Back to: Spanish Lessons

Other lessons in Level IV:

Level IV – Intermediate

1.     Degrees of Comparison

2.    Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect

3.    Conjunctions

4.    Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs

5.    The Verb “Soler”

6.    Time Expressions: Todavía, Aún, Ya, Hace, Acabar, and Desde

7.    Present Subjunctive Tense I

8.    Personal “a”

9.    Future Perfect Tense