Spanish Grammar Bank
SPANISH SUPERLATIVES & COMPARATIVES
In Spanish, comparatives (comparativas) and superlatives (superlativas) allow us to compare two or more things or to express the highest degree of a quality, as illustrated in the following examples:
Esta casa es más moderna que la otra. (This house is more modern than the other.)
Manuel es altísimo. (Manuel is very tall.)
COMPARATIVES IN SPANISH
Comparatives refer to a degree, mainly of an adverb or an adjective, used to express a comparison between two or more entities or properties.
They are usually expressed using comparative structures that express the degree of equality or inequality of something.
Accordingly, comparatives are divided into two main categories: equality (same as) and inequality (superiority / “more than” and inferiority / “less than”).
Comparatives structures are formed with comparative adverbs, such as más (more), menos (less), igual (same), tan (as), followed by the adjective or adverb object of the comparison and by a complement (usually introduced by words such as que, de or como).
PATTERN
Comparative Adverb + Adjective/Adverb + Complement
Comparative of inequality of superiority
The comparative of inequality that indicates a degree of superiority is used to express that something is “more than” something else.
Comparative of superiority are formed with the quantifying adverb más (more), followed by the adjective or adverb object of the comparison and by a complement normally introduced by the word que.
PATTERN
más + adjective/adverb + que
| Marta habla más que su hermano. | Marta talks more than her brother. |
| Él come más que todos. | He eats more than everyone. |
| Este coche es más rápido que el anterior. | This car is faster than the one before. |
Comparative of inequality of inferiority
The comparative of inequality that indicates a degree of inferiority is used to express that something is “less than” something else.
Comparative of inferiority are usually formed with the quantifying adverb menos (less), followed by the adjective or adverb object of the comparison, and by a complement normally introduced by the word que.
PATTERN
menos + adjective/adverb + que
| La conferencia fue menos interesante que la clase. | The conference was less interesting than the class. |
| Mis amigos duermen menos que yo. | My friends sleep less than I do. |
| Su perro come menos que el nuestro. | His/Her dog eats less than ours. |
Comparative of equality
The comparative of equality expresses a degree of equivalence, or that something is as…as something else.
Comparatives of equality are usually formed with quantifying adverbs such as igual (same) tan (as) followed by the adjective or adverb object of the comparison and by a complement.
PATTERN
tan + adjective/adverb + como
igual de + adjective/adverb + que
| Alex es tan simpatico como su amigo. | Alex is as nice as his friend. |
| Mi habitación es tan grande como la de mi hermana. | My room is as big as my sister’s. |
| Yo soy igual de ordenada que tú. | I am as neat as you are. |
SUPERLATIVES IN SPANISH
Superlatives refer to the degree of an adverb or an adjective that attributes the maximum intensity to the quality they express, like for example:
There are two main categories of superlatives, relative and absolute superlatives.
➡️ A relative superlative is one wherein the attribute or property conveyed by the adjective or adverb is limited to a specific set of entities/objects like for example, Ana es la más parlanchina de la clase (Ana is the chattiest one in the class).
➡️ An absolute superlative is one wherein the quality is not limited to a specific set of entities/objects like for example, Fernando es educadísimo (Fernando is extremely polite).
Relative superlative
A relative superlative is used to express that an entity/object has a higher degree of a given quality in comparison to the rest of the group with the quantifying adverbs más or menos (“the most” or “the least”).
OF SUPERIORITY
Article (el/la/los/las) + más + Adjective/Adverb + de
OF INFERIORITY
Article (el/la/los/las) + menos + Adjective/Adverb + de
| Ella es la más elegante de mis amigas. | She is the most elegant of my friends. |
| Susana es la más trabajadora de la clase. | Susana is the most hardworking of the class. |
| Su coche es el menos nuevo de todos. | His car is the least new of all. |
Absolute superlative
An absolute superlative is used to express a very high degree of a quality without establishing a comparison.
Unlike relative superlatives, absolute superlatives do not require a complement.
Absolute superlatives are expressed either with the adverb muy (very) or by adding suffixes such as -ísimo/a and -mente or prefixes such as archi-, hiper-, mega-, etc. for added emphasis.
PATTERNS
Muy + Adjective/Adverb
Adjective/Adverb + -ísimo/a
Adjective/Adverb + -mente
hiper- + Adjective/Adverb
archi- + Adjective/Adverb
mega- + Adjective/Adverb
requete- + Adjective/Adverb
super- + Adjective/Adverb
| Ella es muy lista. | She is very smart. |
| Mi madre es guapísima. | My mother is very beautiful. |
| El libro es increíblemente interesante. | The book is incredibly interesting. |
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FAQs
How do you form a comparative in Spanish?
To form a comparative, use más (more) or menos (less) before the adjective, followed by que (than), for example: más alto que (“taller than”).
What difference between comparative and superlative?
A comparative compares two things (e.g., Juan es más alto que Ana – “Juan is taller than Ana”), while a superlative expresses the highest degree of a quality, such as el más alto (“the tallest”).
Are there any irregular superlative in Spanish?
Yes, some common adjectives have irregular forms, like bueno (good) becoming mejor (better) and malo (bad) becoming peor (worse).
How to form the absolute superlative in Spanish?
The absolute superlative is formed by adding the suffix -ísimo to the adjective (e.g., fácil becomes facilísimo for “very easy”).
Can comparatives and superlatives change for gender and number in Spanish?
Yes, comparatives and superlatives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe, for example, las chicas más altas (“the tallest girls”).
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