A2 · Adjectives
Comparing and grading
más … que, and the superlative needs the article.
At a glance
- Remember
- más … que to compare, el más … de to crown — and four words do it on their own.
- Form
- más alto quemore than
- Signal words
- más
- menos
- que
- tan
- como
- mejor
- peor
- Trap
- Wrong:Es el más bueno jugador en el equipo.Right:Es el mejor jugador del equipo.
Your turn
7 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself5 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Spanish.
| more than | más alto que |
| less than | menos caro que |
| as … as | tan rápido como |
| superlative | el más alto de la clase |
| own forms | mejor, peor, mayor, menor |
| before a number | más de veinte |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Comparison uses que, equality tan … como.
Ana es más alta que su hermano.Ana is taller than her brother.
The superlative needs the definite article.
Es el restaurante más antiguo del barrio.It is the oldest restaurant in the neighbourhood.
What the superlative refers to takes de, not en.
Es la montaña más alta de Europa.It is the highest mountain in Europe.
Before a number it is de and not que.
Tengo más de cien fotos del viaje.I have over a hundred photos from the trip.
Example sentences
Este café es mejor que el otro.This coffee is better than the other one.
Mi hermana es mayor que yo.My sister is older than me.
El metro es tan rápido como el coche.The underground is as fast as the car.
Fue el peor día de la semana.It was the worst day of the week.
6 more example sentences
Hoy hace menos frío que ayer.It is less cold today than yesterday.
Este ejercicio es tan difícil como el anterior.This exercise is as hard as the last one.
Es la mejor panadería del pueblo.It is the best bakery in the village.
Trabajo menos horas que antes.I work fewer hours than before.
El viaje duró más de seis horas.The journey took over six hours.
Mi hijo menor tiene ocho años.My younger son is eight.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Two traps at once, and both come from English. First, you do not say «más bueno» but mejor — the four special forms take no más beside them. Second, what the superlative refers to takes de: «the best player of the team», where English says «in the team».
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Spanish does not grade on the word but in front of it: más alto, menos caro. Comparison uses que, and equality tan … como. That is simpler than English, which has to choose between «-er» and «more» — Spanish always takes más.
The superlative is the same build with the definite article in front: el más alto. What it applies to is attached with de and not with «in»: el edificio más alto de la ciudad — the tallest building in the city.
Four words have forms of their own and take no más: bueno → mejor, malo → peor, grande → mayor, pequeño → menor. With grande and pequeño this holds for age and rank; for size you simply say más grande.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: ser · tener