Make Comparisons in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to make comparisons in Spanish! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use comparisons of inequality

• use comparisons of equality

• make comparisons with adjectives, adverbs, and nouns

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Noun

Spanish	English
el sombrero	hat

examples
Este sombrero es más pequeño que ese. This hat is smaller than that one.

Adverb

Spanish	English
rápido	fast

examples
Respondo tan rápido como Eli. I answer as fast as Eli.

Comparison Formulas

Spanish	English
más...que	more…than
menos...que	less…than
tan...como	as…as
tanto...como	as much/many…as

examples
Mara es más alta que Luis. Mara is taller than Luis.
Pablo es menos tranquilo que Elisa. Pablo is less calm than Elisa.
Como tan rápido como tú. I eat as fast as you.
Tengo tanto trabajo como tú. I have as much work as you.

Comparisons of Inequality

To say that something is more or less than another thing, the following formulas are used:

Formulas for Comparisons of Inequality

More formula: más + adjective/adverb/noun + que

Less formula: menos + adjective/adverb/noun + que

examples
Yo estoy más cerca que tú. I am closer than you.
Madrid está menos lejos que Barcelona. Madrid is less far than Barcelona.

Comparisons of Equality

To compare two nouns, you can use tan (so) with an adjective or adverb. Here is the formula for tan comparisons.

Tan Comparisons

tan + adjective/adverb + como

examples
Raquel es tan joven como Luz. Raquel is as young as Luz.

You also use tanto (so many/so much) to form comparisons of equality using a noun. Here is the formula for tanto comparisons.

Tanto Comparisons

tanto + noun + como

Important: The word tanto must match the noun that follows it in gender and number.

examples
Tengo tanto trabajo como tú. I have as much work as you.
Tu primo tiene tantos juguetes como tú. Your cousin has as many toys as you.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Almorzar

Almorzar(to eat lunch) is stem-changing verb. That means that its "stem," almo, changes to almue in all forms except for the vos, nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros/vosotras forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	almuerzo	I eat lunch
tú	almuerzas	you eat lunch	informal singular you
vos	almorzás	you eat lunch	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	almuerza	he, she eats lunch
usted	almuerza	you eat lunch	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	almorzamos	we eat lunch
vosotros, vosotras	almorzáis	you eat lunch	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	almuerzan	they eat lunch
ustedes	almuerzan	you eat lunch	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Gastar

Gastaris a regular -ar verb that means to spend.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	gasto	I spend
tú	gastas	you spend	informal singular you
vos	gastás	you spend	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	gasta	he, she spends
usted	gasta	you spend	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	gastamos	we spend
vosotros, vosotras	gastáis	you spend	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	gastan	they spend
ustedes	gastan	you spend	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Responder

Responderis a regular -er verb that means to answer.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	respondo	I answer
tú	respondes	you answer	informal singular you
vos	respondés	you answer	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	responde	he, she answers
usted	responde	you answer	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	respondemos	we answer
vosotros, vosotras	respondéis	you answer	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	responden	they answer
ustedes	responden	you answer	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Usar

Usaris a regular -ar verb that means to use.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	uso	I use
tú	usas	you use	informal singular you
vos	usás	you use	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	usa	he, she uses
usted	usa	you use	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	usamos	we use
vosotros, vosotras	usáis	you use	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	usan	they use
ustedes	usan	you use	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Phrases

Here are some of the phrases used in these lessons!

Spanish	English
Tengo más trabajo que mi prima.	I have more work than my cousin.
Eres menos tímido que yo.	You are less shy than me.
Eres tan serio como tu hermano.	You are as serious as your brother.

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Mara:

¿Cómo son tus compañeros? No los conozco.

What are your classmates like? I don't know them.

Rodrigo:

Pues, Marcos es tan joven como Tomas. Y Elena baila mejor que yo. José es más aburrido que Pablo.

Well, Marcos is as young as Tomás. And Elena dances better than me. Jose es more boring than Pablo.

Mara:

¡Yo conozco a Pablo! Es muy tranquilo.

I know Pablo! He's very calm.

Rodrigo:

Tienes razón. Pablo es muy tranquilo. Y baila mejor que yo.

You’re right. Pablo is very calm. And he dances better than I do.

Mara:

Pues, sí. ¡Tú bailas tan mal como yo!

Well, yes. You dance as badly as I do!

Want to learn more about how to make comparisons in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Comparisons of Equality in Spanish

• Comparisons of Inequality in Spanish

• Superlative Adjectives in Spanish