| 13.9 Comparative clauses |
| 13.9 Comparative clauses - an introduction |
Comparative clauses are used to - how the name already
says - compare things. They tell us how one thing is
in quality or quantity related to another thing. They
can be superior, they subordinated or equal. A comparison
can be done with nouns, adjectives and adverbs.
| Noun |
| He has more
money than
you do. He has less money than you do. He has as much money as you do. |
| Adjective |
| He is richer
than you are. He is poorer than you are. He is as rich as you are. |
| Adverbs |
| He runs faster
than you do. He runs more slowly than you do. He runs as fast as you do. |
| Superlative |
The superlative goes one step further. It compares one fact not to only one other fact but to ALL other fact. |
| He is the
richest man (of all men). He is the richest of all. He runs the fastest. |
| I. The Spanish comparative |
| Ia Equality = ... tan (tanto) + adjective (+noun) / adverb + como .... |
 |
Él
es tan grande como ella. <=>He is as tall as she is. |
|
Ellos son tan ricos como Ustedes. <=>They are as rich as you are. |
|
Vosotros sois tan testarudos como ellos. <=>You are as stubborn as they are. |
|
Él es tan rico como ella. = He is as rich as she is. |
|
Él corre tan rápido como ella. = He runs as fast as she does. |
|
Nosotros tenemos tanto dinero como vosotros. = We have as much money as you have. |
|
En España hay tantos coches como en Inglaterra. = In Spain there are as many cars as in England. |
| Ib Superiority = ... más (más) + adjective (+noun) / adverb + que .... |
|
Él es más grande que ella. <=> He is taller than she is. |
|
Ellos son más ricos que Ustedes. <=> They are richer than you are. |
|
Vosotros sois más testarudos que ellos. <=>You are more stubborn that they are. |
|
Él es más rico que ella. = He is richer than she is. |
|
Él corre más rápido que ella. = He runs faster than she does. |
|
Nosotros tenemos más dinero que Ustedes. = We have more money than you have. |
|
En Alemania hay más coches que en Inglaterra. = In Spain there are more cars than in England. |
| Ic Subordination = ... menos (menos) + adjective (+noun) / adverb + que .... |
|
Él
es menos grande que ella. <=> He is less tall than she is (he is not as tall as she is, he is smaller than she) |
|
Ellos
son menos ricos que Ustedes. <=> They are less rich than you (they are not as rich as you are, they are poorer than you are) |
|
Vosotros
sois menos testarudos que ellos.<=> You are less stubborn than they are (you are not as stubborn as they are, you are more understanding than they are) |
|
Él
es menos rico que ella. = He is less rich than she is (he is not as rich as she is, he is poorer than she is) |
|
Él corre menos rápido que ella. = He runs less fast than she
does |
|
Nosotros tenemos menos dinero que Ustedes. = We have less money than you have. |
|
En
Alemania hay menos coches que en Inglaterra. = In Deutschland are less cars than in England. |
As it is easily to be seen the comparative is the same no matter whether it is a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
| II Superlative |
The superlative indicates the quantitative or qualitative
superiority of one object in comparison to a reference
group.
| The reference group is to be mentioned! |
| He is the
greatest (of all). He runs the fastest among his group. He is the richest man in town. |
| IIa Relative superlative in superiority = ... el / la + más + adjective (+noun) / adverb +de |
|
Es
el hombre más rico de todos. = He is the richest of all. |
|
Es el coche más rapido de la ciudad. = This is the fastest car in town. |
|
Es la mujer más guapa que he visto jamás. = She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. |
| IIb Relative superlative with subordination = ... el / la + menos + adjective (+noun) / adverb +de |
|
De
todos estos chicos él es el menos arrogante. = Of all the boys he is the least arrogant. |
| III. Elative |
Is the superlative used without mentioning a reference
group it is called elative. Just another name for something
that looks quite the same. Point here is that it is
used to emphasise something rather than compare.
| Elative |
| His brother
is the coolest! His brother is very cool. Mom is the greatest! Mom is really great. |
In Spanish the superlative is only used to compare.
Therefore the emphasis is put in other ways.
| IIIa Formation of the elative with an adverb (muy, sumamente etc.) |
|
Ella
es muy guapa. = She is very beautiful. |
|
Vosotros sois muy gordos.= You are very big |
| IIIb Formation of the elative with ísimo |
The elative can be formed with ísimo by taking the adjective ending -o/-a away and appending the ísimo. If the adjective ends on a consonant the ísimo is appended without changing the adjective. Again please remember that adjectives - no matter which ending - are changed according to the gender and number of the noun referred to. The ending puts an extra emphasis on the adjective - it can be translated with really very (or something similar). |
|
Este coche es carísimo. = This care is really very expensive. |
|
Estos coches son carísimos.= These cars are really very expensive. |
|
Esta casa es carísima. = This house is really expensive. |
|
Estas casas son carísimas.= These houses are really expensive. |
|
Este ejercicio es dificilísimo.= This exercise is really difficult. |
|
Estos ejercicios son dificilísimos.= These exercises are really difficult. |
| IV. Specialties |
|
rico = riquísimo = |
|
largo = larguísimo = very long |
|
feliz = felicísimo = very happy |
|
fuerte= fortísimo = very strong |
|
noble = nobilísimo = very honourable |
|
amable = amabilísimo = very nice |
|
fiel = fidelísimo = very faithful |
|
antiguo = antiquísimo = very old |
| contact privacy statement imprint |
