Comparative/ Superlative
To compare several things or persons with each other, you need the comparative or the superlative.
Comparative
The comparative is used to compare two or more objects or people. The comparison is made with the help of the words más/menos/tan.
Spanish has the following three comparative forms:
- Comparative of inequality (Superiority) (comparativo de superioridad) with más…que
Example: Rúben es más guapo que Julio. (Rúben is more handsome than Julio.)
- Comparative of equality (comparativo de igualdad) with tan … como or igual de … que
Example: María es tan rápida como Max. / María es igual de rápida que Max. (Maria is as fast as Max.)
- Comparative of inequality (inferiority) (comparativo de inferioridad) with menos … que
Example: Alejandro es menos alto que Ignacio. (Alejandro is less tall than Ignacio.)
Superlative
The superlative is the highest form of intensification and is formed with el/la/los/las más … or el/la/los/las menos …. It is used to express the superiority or inferiority of a person or object relative to all other persons or objects in a group.
Example:
Alejandro es el menos alto del curso. (Alejandro is the least tall of the course.)
Sara es la más deportiva. (Sara is the most sporty.)
| Basic form | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bueno | mejor | el mejor |
| malo | peor | el peor |
| poco | menos | - |
| mucho | más | - |
| grande | mayor | el mayor |
| pequeño | menor | el menor |
Special points
When increasing adjectives, some peculiarities must be taken into account.
- For some adjectives, a is used for comparison rather than que
Example: A
inferior a – lower than
superior a – higher than
anterior a – prior to
posterior a – subsequent to
- Some adjectives have irregular forms of intensification: