Comparative and superlative in Spanish
Exercises
- Spanish comparative practice quiz Score -/-
- Spanish superlative practice quiz Score -/-
- Comparative or superlative? Score -/-
Comparative and superlative adjectives (adjetivos comparativos and superlativos) express the quality degree of the noun they modify.
As usual, these adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
| Quality degree | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Comparative |
1.more than 2.less than 3.similar / equal to |
1. Esta falda es más ancha que ésa. (This skirt is larger than that one.) 2. Esta película es menos entretenida que esa. (This movie is less entertaining than that one.) 3. Soy tan alta como tú. (I am as tall as you.) |
| Superlative | superior to | Él es el chico más guapo de la escuela. (He is the most handsome boy in the school.) |
Lesson Outline
HideComparatives
Comparative forms may serve as:
- majority comparative (more...than)
- minority comparative (les...than)
- equality comparative (as...as)
1. Majority comparative (more...than)
To express comparison of inequality with "more", here is the sentence structure:
MÁS + adjective + QUE < more + adjective + than
Example:
La comida española es más rica que la comida alemana. (Spanish food is more delicious than German food.)
2. Minority comparative (less...than)
To express comparison of inequality with "less", here is the sentence structure:
MENOS + adjective + QUE < more + adjective + than
Example:
Rafael es menos celoso que su ex novio. (Rafael is less jealous than her ex boyfriend.)
3. Equality comparative (as...as)
To express comparison of equality, here is the sentence structure:
TAN + adjective + COMO < as + adjective + as
Example:
Este portátil es tan caro como lo de Lucía. (This laptop is as expensive as the one of Lucía.)
Superlatives
Superlatives express the quality of the noun they modify to its maximum degree.
Here are some common superlative structures:
- más + adjective + de / menos + adjective + de = the most / least + adjective + of
- muy + adjective / adjective + -ísimo = very + adjective
1. The most and the least
This type of structure expresses the maximum degree in comparison to others.
| Superlative structure | English equivalent | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| más + adjective + de | the most + adjective + of | Éste es el día más importante de mi vida. (This is the most important day of my life.) |
| menos + adjective + de | the least + adjective + of | María es la menos inteligente de la clase. (María is the least clever of the school.) |
2. Absolute superlative
This type of structure expresses the absolute superlative, which indicates the maximum adjective degree without comparing it to others.
| English | 1st structure | Example | 2nd structure | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| very + adjective | muy + adjective | Estoy muy triste. (I am very sad.) | adjective + ísimo | Eres guapísimo. (You are very handsome.) |
In the second case, you need to add the superlative ending according to the gender and number of the noun they modify.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | -ísimo | -ísima |
| Plural | -ísimos | -ísimas |
Examples:
- Las mariposas son bellísimas. (Butterflies are very beautiful.)
- Javier es altísimo. (Javier is very tall.)
Spelling changes may occur when dropping certain adjective endings to add the superlative -ísimo.
| Ending | Spelling change | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -co | -qu | rico - riquísimo (very rich, delicious) |
| -go | -gu | largo - larguísimo (very large) |
| -z | -c | veloz - velocísimo (very fast) |
Irregular comparatives and superlatives
| Comparative | Superlative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bueno | mejor | better | el mejor |
the best |
| malo | peor | worse | el peor |
the worse |
| grande |
mayor más grande |
greater/older larger |
el mayor el más grande |
the greatest/oldest the largest |
| pequeño | menor | lesser/younger | el menor |
the least/youngest |
Examples:
- Comparative: Tu habitación es mejor que la mía. (Your room is better than mine.)
- Superlative: Hoy es el mejor día de la semana. (Today is the best day of the week.)
To create the feminine and plural forms of the abovementioned nouns, have a look at the Gender and number of Spanish adjectives subpage!
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
Your Spanish teacher
I teach: Spanish
Very experienced teacher!
Spanish teacher on line, Spanish as a Foreign Language DELE
I teach: Spanish
Hello everyone, my name is Verónica Palacios, I am a Spanish teacher with a master's degree in modern languages and speech studies; I... have worked as a language teacher in face-to-face and online classes for 13 years. Teaching languages is an activity that I love, I enjoy teaching my mother tongue, I help my students with questions in grammar, reading, writing, speaking, listening to Spanish, in my tutorials I put a lot of emphasis on culture and different learning contexts . Spanish is a very important language at present; If you have knowledge in Spanish, you will have the opportunity to do business, study or visit abroad, in addition to knowing the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. I would like to be your Spanish tutor and work together as a team. I hope you have a beautiful day. See you. Read more
It@lian, English and Spanish with Daniela
I teach: English, Italian, Spanish
Hi everyone!My name is Daniela and I am a qualified Italian language teacher! I teach Italian and English at school, and Spanish and French... as a freelancer. I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!See you online! Read more
Very experienced teacher!
