Comparatives
Comparativos
Más/menos… que, and the irregulars mejor, peor, mayor, menor.
The rule
Spanish builds comparisons with a single frame. Superiority: más + adjective/adverb/noun + que, as in 'Ella es más alta que yo', 'Corre más rápido que yo', 'Tengo más libros que tú'. Inferiority: menos + adjective/adverb/noun + que, as in 'Este libro es menos interesante que el otro'. Comparing verbs needs no adjective at all: 'Trabajo más que tú'.
Four common words refuse the más/menos frame and have their own comparative form: bueno/bien → mejor, malo/mal → peor, grande (age) → mayor, pequeño (age) → menor. Say 'Es mejor que el otro', never 'más bueno'. Note that mayor/menor are about age when applied to people; for physical size 'más grande' and 'más pequeño' are normal. Two traps worth drilling.
First, before a NUMBER the comparison uses 'de', not 'que': 'Tengo más de veinte libros', 'Cuesta menos de cien euros'. Second, after 'que' Spanish uses a subject pronoun where English uses an object one: 'más alta que yo' (not 'que mí'), 'menos rápido que él'. At B1 you also meet 'de lo que' before a full clause: 'Es más difícil de lo que parece' (it's harder than it looks).
Examples
Ella es más alta que yo.
She is taller than me. (superiority; subject pronoun after que)
Este libro es menos interesante que el otro.
This book is less interesting than the other one. (inferiority)
Este restaurante es mejor que aquel.
This restaurant is better than that one. (bueno → mejor, never 'más bueno')
Mi hermano es mayor que yo.
My brother is older than me. (age → mayor, not 'más viejo')
Tengo más de veinte libros.
I have more than twenty books. (before a number: de, not que)
Es más difícil de lo que parece.
It's harder than it looks. (de lo que before a clause)
Try it yourself
Three quick questions, straight from the app. No sign-up needed.
Este restaurante es ___ que aquel. (bueno, superioridad)
This restaurant is better than that one.
All 23 Comparatives questions, free in Hablaba
Hablaba spots this exact rule in your real conversations and points you back to the quiz for it. The drills feed the speaking, which is the point of the whole app.
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