Comparisons of Inequality

Notes:

  1. The written lesson is below.
  2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

 

If two things are not equal, they are unequal.

We are not the same height.
You are taller than I.

The two items do not cost the same.
The camera is more expensive than the television.

In Spanish, inequality is expressed by using one of the following formulae:

más (menos) + adjective + que
más (menos) + adverb + que
más (menos) + noun + que

Here are some examples:

Tú eres más alto que yo.
You are taller than I.
Mónica habla más lentamente que Carmen.
Monica speaks more slowly than Carmen.
Tengo menos libros que Arsenio.
I have fewer books than Arsenio.

If the comparative is followed by a number, use de rather than que.

Hay menos de veinte alumnos en la clase.
There are fewer than twenty students in the class.

Él tiene más de noventa años.
He is more than ninety years old. (Literally: He has more than ninety years.)

Note that when the sentence is negative, que is used even with numbers, to convey the meaning “only.”

Tengo más de cinco dólares.
(I have more than five dollars.)

but

No tengo más que cinco dólares.
(I only have five dollars.)

 

Hay más de veinte estudiantes en la clase.
(There are more than twenty students in the class.)

but

No hay más que veinte estudiantes en la clase.
(There are only twenty students in the class.)