Comparatives & Superlatives
Comparatives & Superlatives
English sometimes changes the adjective itself to compare things (big → bigger) and sometimes uses 'more' (expensive → more expensive). Spanish always uses the 'more' pattern — no adjective-ending version exists at all.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Más/menos + adjective + que, every time
más grande que (bigger than), más caro que (more expensive than) — one pattern for every adjective
bigger than (adjective changes) vs. more expensive than ('more' added) — two different patterns depending on the word
Spanish never adds a comparative ending to an adjective — más (more) or menos (less) plus que (than) is the only pattern, whether you're comparing size, price, or anything else. This is actually simpler than English, which unpredictably splits into short adjectives that change form and longer ones that need 'more' — Spanish has one rule to learn instead of a rule plus a length-based exception.
Superlatives add 'el/la' in front
el más grande (the biggest), la más cara (the most expensive) — the article agrees with the noun's gender
the biggest, the most expensive — 'the' never changes
The superlative just adds the definite article before the comparative phrase — el más grande, la más cara — and that article has to agree with the noun's gender, the same agreement rule you've seen everywhere else in Spanish. English 'the' stays fixed regardless, so this agreement step is new territory rather than a direct translation.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- bigger than
- English
- less expensive than
- English
- the biggest
- English
- the most expensive (fem.)
- English
- better
- English
- worse
- English
- older
- English
- younger
- English
- as tall as
- English
- as much as