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comparativas

Comparativas are a grammatical category that expresses variation in degree between two entities. They indicate differences in quantity, quality, or extent, and are used to show superiority, inferiority, or equality. The concept is common to many languages, including Spanish and English. In Spanish, comparativas are formed with three main patterns: superiority, equality, and inferiority.

Superiority uses más or menos + adjective + que to indicate that one entity has more or less

In English, comparatives typically use -er or more/less, with irregulars like better, worse, older, younger. The

In practice, comparatives help express relative differences and are often contrasted with superlatives, which express the

of
a
quality
than
another.
Example:
Este
libro
es
más
interesante
que
ese.
Inferiority
uses
menos
+
adjective
+
que:
Esta
tarea
es
menos
difícil
que
la
otra.
Equality
uses
tan
+
adjective/adverb
+
como
for
qualities,
and
tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas
+
noun
+
como
when
the
comparison
involves
a
noun:
Ella
es
tan
rápida
como
él;
Tengo
tantas
ganas
como
tú.
Irregular
forms
exist:
mejor
and
peor;
mayor
and
menor
carry
nuanced
meanings
beyond
simple
superiority.
Comparatives
of
age
or
sequence
may
use
mayor/menor
or
más
viejo/
más
joven
in
some
contexts.
term
comparative
also
appears
in
other
languages
with
different
constructions
but
similar
function.
extreme
degree
within
a
group.