Unequal Comparisons
Es interesante. → It is interesting.
Es más (menos) interesante.→ It is more (less) interesting.
Es el más interesante. → It is the most (least) interesting.
La casa es cara. → The house is expensive.
La casa es más caro.→ The house is more expensive.
La casa es la más cara del mundo. → The house is the most expensive in the world.
*Notice that de, not en, is used to mean in.
Irregulars
There are few words that are not consistent.
bueno → good
mejor → better (usually goes before the noun)
el mejor → the best
malo → bad
peor → worse (usually goes before the noun)
el peor → the worst
grande → big, great
mayor → greater, older
el mayor → the greatest, the oldest
más grande → bigger
el más grande → the biggest
pequeño → small
más pequeño → smaller
el más pequeño → the smallest
joven → young
menor → younger
el menor → the youngest
Que
El libro es más interestante que el periódico. → The book is more interesting than the newspaper.
La casa es más grande que el apartamento. → The house is bigger than the apartment.
When dealing with numbers, remember that de is used instead of que if the statement is affirmative.
Tengo más de cinco dólares. → I have more than eight dollars.
Tengo menos que ocho dólares. → I only have less than eight dollars.
If you are using two different verbs in your comparison, the use the phrase de el/la/los/las que.
Mi abuela prepara más comida de la que podemos comer. → My grandma makes more food than we can eat.
Mi esposa gasta más dinero del que gana yo. → My wife spends more money than I earn.
If the nouns are not the same (like comida or dinero in the previous examples), then you would use the phrase de lo que.
Mi abuela prepara más comida de lo que piensas. → My grandma make more food than you think.
Mi esposa gasta más rápidamente de lo que quiero. → My wife spends more money than I want.
Equal Comparisons
When you want to compare two things that are equal, use the following formula:
tan + adjective or aderb + como
or
tanto + noun + como
or
tanto + como (for comparing actions)
Soy tan alto como tu. → I am as tall as you.
El libro es tan interesante como la película. → The book is as interesting as the movie.
La casa es tan vieja como tu madre. → The house is as old as your mom.
Tengo tantos libros como un bibliotecario. → I have as many books as a librarian.
Mi amigo saca tantas buenas notas como yo. → My friend gets as many good grades as I.
Comí tanto como él. → I ate as much as him.
Escribimos tanto como ellos. → We wrote as much as them.