Table of Contents

• Making Things Unequal: Comparisons with `Más` and `Menos`
  • Comparing with Adjectives (Describing Words)
  • Comparing with Adverbs (Describing Actions)
  • Comparing with Nouns (Counting Things)
• The Rebels: Irregular Comparatives
• Keeping Things Equal: Comparisons with `Tan... Como`
  • Using `Tan` with Adjectives & Adverbs
  • Using `Tanto` with Nouns
• Watch Out! Common Stumbling Blocks
• Time to Practice!
  • Exercise 1: Choose the Right Word
  • Exercise 2: Build the Sentence
• Conclusion

Spanish Comparisons: A Complete Guide to Más Que, Menos Que & Tan Como

Is Spanish more romantic than French? Is a gatocat as smart as a perrodog? Is this guide the best way to learn Spanish comparisons? (We think so!)

Being able to compare things is a superpower in any language. It lets you express your opinions, describe the world around you, and make choices—from picking a movie to deciding which city to visit.

In Spanish, making comparisons is surprisingly simple once you learn a few key formulas. In this guide, we'll break down the three essential structures you need to know:

• más ... que (more ... than)
• menos ... que (less/fewer ... than)
• tan ... como (as ... as)

Ready to start comparing like a pro? ¡Vamos!

Choosing the right words is the first step in mastering comparisons.

Making Things Unequal: Comparisons with Más and Menos

When you want to say that two things are not equal, you'll use más (more) or menos (less). Think of these as the building blocks for saying something is bigger, smaller, faster, or slower than something else.

The basic formula is straightforward:

Subject + Verb + más/menos + [Adjective/Adverb/Noun] + que + Object

Let's see how this works in different situations.

Comparing with Adjectives (Describing Words)

This is the most common type of comparison. You're simply saying one thing has more or less of a certain quality than another.

Formula: más/menos + adjective + que

• Mi coche es más rápido que tu coche.
  • My car is faster than your car.
• Barcelona es menos grande que Madrid.
  • Barcelona is less big than Madrid.
• Estas manzanasapples son más rojas que esas.
  • These apples are redder than those ones.

Comparing with Adverbs (Describing Actions)

You can also compare how actions are performed. Do you speak more quickly than your friend? Does the sun shine less brightly in winter?

Formula: más/menos + adverb + que

• Hablo español más despacio que mi profesor.
  • I speak Spanish more slowly than my teacher.
• Mi hermanobrother come menos ruidosamente que yo.
  • My brother eats less noisily than I do.
• Ella trabaja más eficientemente que su colega.
  • She works more efficiently than her colleague.

Comparing with Nouns (Counting Things)

Want to say you have more books or less time? You can also use más and menos to compare quantities of things.

Formula: más/menos + noun + que

• Tengo más libros que María.
  • I have more books than María.
• En mi ciudadcity, hay menos árboles que en la tuya.
  • In my city, there are fewer trees than in yours.
• Ella necesita más tiempo que nosotros para terminar.
  • She needs more time than us to finish.

"Even your morning coffee can be an opportunity for a comparison.")

The Rebels: Irregular Comparatives

Just like English has "good, better, best" instead of "good, gooder, goodest," Spanish has a few common words that refuse to follow the más/menos rule. Memorizing these four rebels will make you sound much more natural.

Adjective	English	Irregular Comparative	English
bueno/a	good	mejor	better
malo/a	bad	peor	worse
grande	big/old	mayor	bigger/older
pequeño/a	small/young	menor	smaller/younger

Let's look at some examples:

• Tu idea es mejor que mi idea.
  • Your idea is better than my idea.
• El climaweather hoy está peor que ayer.
  • The weather today is worse than yesterday.
• Mi hermana es mayor que yo.
  • My sister is older than me.
• Tu perro es menor que el mío.
  • Your dog is younger than mine.

The 'tan... como' structure is all about finding the balance.

Keeping Things Equal: Comparisons with Tan... Como

What if things are the same? To say something is "as ... as" something else, you'll need the dynamic duo: tan and como.

Using Tan with Adjectives & Adverbs

When you're comparing qualities (adjectives) or the way actions are done (adverbs), you'll use tan.

Formula: tan + adjective/adverb + como

• El libro es tan interesante como la película.
  • The book is as interesting as the movie.
• Mi cochecar es tan rápido como el tuyo.
  • My car is as fast as yours.
• ¿Puedes hablar tan despacio como yo?
  • Can you speak as slowly as I do?

Using Tanto with Nouns

When you want to say "as much" or "as many," tan gets a little bigger and becomes tanto. This version does change to match the noun it's describing.

Formula: tanto/a/os/as + noun + como

• tanto (+ masculine singular noun): No tengo tanto tiempo como tú. (I don't have as much time as you.)
• tanta (+ feminine singular noun): Ella tiene tanta paciencia como un santo. (She has as much patience as a saint.)
• tantos (+ masculine plural noun): Tengo tantos amigos como mi hermano. (I have as many friends as my brother.)
• tantas (+ feminine plural noun): Compramos tantas manzanas como naranjas. (We bought as many apples as oranges.)

Watch Out! Common Stumbling Blocks

Learning comparisons is a huge step, but there are a few common traps. Let's look at how to avoid them.

1. Forgetting que or como

It's easy to drop the second half of the comparison pair. Remember, más and menos almost always need a que, and tan/tanto need a como.

2. Mixing Up tan and tanto

This is the most frequent mistake. Just remember this simple rule:

• tan + adjective/adverb (describing words)
• tanto/a/os/as + noun (things you can count)

3. Comparing with Numbers: Más de

Here's a special rule that often trips up learners. When you are comparing something to a specific number, you don't use que. You use de.

Use más de / menos de + NUMBER

• Tengo más de veinte euros en mi cartera.
  • I have more than twenty euros in my wallet. (Here you are comparing "my euros" to the number "twenty").
• La viajetrip dura menos de tres horas.
  • The trip takes less than three hours.

Compare this to a normal comparison:

• Tengo más dinero que tú. (Comparing money to money, not a number).

Time to Practice!

Let's put your new knowledge to the test.

Exercise 1: Choose the Right Word

Fill in the blank with the correct word: más, mejor, tan, tanto, or tantos.

1. Mi perro es ______ inteligente que tu gato.
2. Este examen es ______ que el anterior. ¡Fue muy difícil! (worse)
3. No tengo ______ dinero como para comprar ese coche.
4. Mi apartamento no es ______ grande como tu casa.
5. ¿Por qué tienes ______ zapatos?

Click to see the answers

1. más (regular comparison with an adjective)

2. peor (irregular for "malo")

3. tanto ("dinero" is a masculine singular noun)

4. tan ("grande" is an adjective)

5. tantos ("zapatos" is a masculine plural noun)

Exercise 2: Build the Sentence

Put these words in the correct order to form a comparative sentence.

Conclusion

You've done it! You now have the essential tools to make all kinds of comparisons in Spanish. Whether you're debating if tacos are mejor que burritos, explaining that your city has tantos museos como a capital, or admitting you need más café, you're ready.

Like any new skill, the key is practice. Start looking for opportunities to compare things in your daily life. Is your coffee today más caliente que yesterday's? Is this lesson tan útil como you hoped? The more you use these structures, the more natural they'll become.

¡Buena suerte!