Comparative/Superlative Adverbs in Spanish Grammar
Just here for the exercises? Click here.How to compare adverbs in Spanish
Comparative and superlative adverbs (los grados del adverbio) allow us to compare the way action is performed. Spanish grammar distinguishes between the absolute superlative and the relative superlative.
Learn about the different types of comparative and superlatives in Spanish grammar with Lingolia’s simple overview then put your knowledge to the test in the exercises.
Example
María corre tan rápidamente como Carolina.
Clara corre más rápidamente que María.
La que más rápidamente corre es Clara.
Clara corre rapidísimamente.
Comparative Adverbs in Spanish
We construct the comparative using tan … comoas … as (equality), más … quemore than (superiority) or menos queless than (inferiority).
- Ejemplo:
- María corre tan rápidamente como Carolina.Maria runs just as fast as Carolina.
- Clara corre más rápidamente que María.Clara runs faster than Maria.
- María corre menos rápidamente que Clara.Maria runs less fast than/not as fast as Clara.
Exceptions
However, there are a few exceptions:
| basic form | comparative |
|---|---|
| bien | mejor |
| mal | peor |
| mucho/muy | más |
| poco | menos |
Absolute Superlatives in Spanish
Some adverbs can be used in the absolute superlative form. To construct this form, we add the ending ísimo to the adverb.
- Example:
- mucho → muchísimo
- tanto → tantísimo
For the following adverbs, however, we have to pay attention to orthographical exceptions:
| basic form | absolute superlative |
|---|---|
| cerca | cerquísima |
| poco | poquísimo |
| lejos | lejísimos |
When constructing the absolute superlative for adverbs that were built by adding the mente ending to adjectives, we use the ending ísimamente.
- Example:
- Clara corre rapidísimamente.Clara runs very fast.
To Note
There is no relative superlative for Spanish adverbs. If we want to say something like “Clara runs the fastest”, we have to use a relative clause in Spanish:
- Example:
- La que más rápidamente corre es Clara.The one who runs the fastest is Clara.
