Comparatives: Más... que (More... than)

Think of this grammar point as a sandwich. The word más and the word que are the bread. Whatever you are comparing goes in the middle. Unlike English, where we sometimes add "-er" (like "taller") and sometimes use "more" (like "more intelligent"), Spanish is consistent. You almost always use más plus the word. You do not need to worry about the length of the word. Whether it is a short word like alto or a long one like interesante, the rule stays the same. You just drop the adjective, adverb, or noun right in that middle slot. It is a very organized system. It is like a grammar conveyor belt that never breaks down.

1. 1Creating a comparison follows a very specific recipe. Follow these steps to build your sentence:
2. 2Start with the person or thing you are talking about (The Subject).
3. 3Add a verb, like es (is) or corre (runs).
4. 4Place the word más (more).
5. 5Insert the quality or thing being compared (Adjective, Adverb, or Noun).
6. 6Add the word que (than).
7. 7End with the second person or thing (The Comparison Point).
8. 8For example: Juan + es + más + alto + que + Pedro. Easy, right? If you are comparing actions, you can put the verb before más. Like this: Yo + estudio + más + que + tú. This pattern is your roadmap for clear communication.

Use this pattern whenever you want to highlight a difference in degree. Imagine you are at a market. You want the más grande (bigger) watermelon. Use it when describing people's personalities. Maybe your sister is más simpática (nicer) than your brother. Use it for travel scenarios. This train is más rápido (faster) than the bus. It works perfectly for professional settings too. You can say a project is más urgente (more urgent) than another. It even works for quantities. You can say you have más libros (more books) than the library. Well, maybe not that many, but you get the idea! It covers almost every "more" situation in life.

There are a few times when you should put más... que back in the toolbox. First, do not use it for equality. If two things are the same, use tan... como. Second, avoid it for "less than" situations. Use menos... que for that. Most importantly, do not use it with irregular adjectives. You wouldn't say más bueno. That sounds like saying "more gooder" in English. Instead, use mejor (better). Similarly, do not say más malo. Use peor (worse). For age, use mayor (older) and menor (younger) instead of más viejo or más joven in most cases. Think of these irregulars as the VIPs of the grammar world. They have their own special rules.

One of the biggest traps is using de instead of que. Many people say más de when they mean "than." In Spanish, más de is usually only for numbers. If you say tengo más que cinco pesos, it sounds a bit off. Use tengo más de cinco pesos. Another mistake is forgetting gender agreement. The adjective in the middle must match the first person or thing. If you are talking about la casa, use más bonita. If you are talking about el coche, use más bonito. Yes, even native speakers mess this up when they are in a rush! Just take a breath and match those endings. Also, don't try to say más mejor. It’s redundant and will make your teacher's eye twitch.

It is helpful to see how más... que compares to its siblings. Más... que is for inequality (A > B). Menos... que is also for inequality but in the other direction (A < B). Then there is tan... como, which is the "as... as" of Spanish (A = B). While más... que focuses on "more," más de focuses on "exceeding a limit." For example, más que tú compares you to another person. Más de cien compares a quantity to a threshold. Think of que as a bridge between two items. Think of de as a pointer to a specific number. Keeping these distinct will make your Spanish sound much more polished and professional.