In English, comparisons can take two forms: synthetic (smarter, lesser, etc.) and compound (more talented, less interesting, etc.). Spanish, however, has three comparative forms: superior, inferior, and equal.

 

Superiority

To indicate that one adjective, adverb, or noun is superior to another in some way, use the following construction:

 

Más + adjective/adverb/noun + que

More(er) + adjective/adverb/noun + than

 

Inferiority

Indicating inferiority uses a similar construction:

 

Menos + adjective/adverb/noun + que

Less(er) + adjective/adverb/noun + than

 

Equality

The forms used to express equality in Spanish are different for adjectives/adverbs and nouns. To make a comparison of equality with an adjective or adverb, use the following form:

 

Tan +adjective/adverb + como

 

To make a comparison of equality for nouns, use the construction below:

 

Tanto, -a, -os, -as, (as much, as many) + noun + como

 

Irregular Comparatives

Bueno (good) and malo (bad) have irregular comparative forms:

 

Adjective		Comparative
Spanish	English	Spanish	English
bueno, -a	good	mejor	better
malo, a	bad	peor	worse

 

The superlatives for bueno and malo are based off of the irregular comparatives. So the superlative of bueno is el/la mejor (the best) and the superlative of malo is el/la peor (the worst.)

 

A handful of adjectives have both regular comparative and irregular comparative forms. As you can see from the table below, the two forms have evolved distinct meanings. Therefore, the regular and irregular comparatives cannot be used interchangeably. Doing so could cause confusion or a possible misunderstanding.

 

Adjective		Regular Comparative		Irregular Comparative
Spanish	English	Spanish	English	Spanish	English
grande	big	más grande	bigger	mayor	older
pequeño	small	más pequeño	smaller	menor	younger

 

Note that the irregular comparatives mayor and menor are used only for comparisons of age. To say that someone is old without making a comparison, use viejo. To say that someone is young, use joven.