Comparatives: igual de, un poco, menos de...

1. What are we talking about here?

• In this unit you compare quantities in Spanish:
• How much of something there is (money, time, pollution, meetings…).
• How similar or different two situations are.

You use these patterns:

• igual de + adjetivo / adverbio + que
• más / menos + sustantivo + que
• más de / menos de + número o cantidad
• poco / un poco

Below you see when to use each form and what to watch out for.

2. “Igual de … que”: same degree of quality or way

Use igual de … que to say that something has the same degree of a quality or the same way of doing something.

• igual de + adjetivo + que → same intensity of a quality.
• igual de + adverbio + que → same way / same level of action.

Important:

• English: as + adjective/adverb + as.
• Spanish: igual de + adjetivo/adverbio + que.
• Do not say: tan limpio que here; for this B1 unit, focus on igual de … que.

Quick self-check

• Can you say: “My flat is as big as yours”?
• Mi piso es __ grande __ el tuyo.

Correct: Mi piso es igual de grande que el tuyo.

3. “Más / menos + sustantivo + que”: more / less things

Use this to compare the amount of things (nouns) between two situations.

Important:

• After más / menos you put a noun.
• After the noun, use que to introduce the comparison.

Typical mistakes

• más que reuniones → word order is wrong.
• más de reuniones que → extra de, not needed with a noun.

Correct pattern: más / menos + sustantivo + que.

Quick self-check

• How do you say: “We generate less waste than before”?

Possible answer: Generamos menos residuos que antes.

4. “Más / menos de” with numbers and exact quantities

Use más de / menos de when you have a number or an exact quantity after it.

Key rule

• más / menos que → with nouns.
• más / menos de → with numbers or clear quantities.

Compare:

• La ciudad produce más residuos que antes. (noun)
• La ciudad produce más de 200 toneladas de residuos. (number)

Typical mistakes

• más que 20 euros → should be más de 20 euros.
• menos tres meses → needs de: menos de tres meses.

Quick self-check

• How do you say: “This year we had more than five meetings”?

Possible answer: Este año hemos tenido más de cinco reuniones.

5. “Poco” vs “un poco”: how much or how little?

Both talk about a small quantity, but the tone is different.

Use “poco” when…

• You want to say that something is insufficient.
• Implicit: “It should be more”.

Use “un poco” when…

• You recognise that there is some effort, even if small.
• The tone is softer, less negative.

Typical mistake

• apoya poco un el reciclaje → wrong order, wrong form.

Correct options:

• apoya poco el reciclaje (almost nothing).
• apoya un poco el reciclaje (a little support).

Quick self-check

• Which is more negative?
• La empresa invierte poco en sostenibilidad.
• La empresa invierte un poco en sostenibilidad.

More negative: poco.

6. Fast decision guide: que or de? which structure?

When you speak, you often need to choose quickly. Use this simple guide.

1. Are you comparing qualities or ways of doing?
   • Yes → use igual de + adjetivo/adverbio + que.
   • Example: “as clean as”, “as fast as”.
2. Are you comparing amounts of things (nouns) between two situations?
   • Yes → use más / menos + sustantivo + que.
   • Example: “more meetings than”, “less traffic than”.
3. Do you have a number or a clear quantity after more/less?
   • Yes → use más de / menos de + número/cantidad.
   • Example: “more than 20 euros”, “less than three months”.
4. Do you just want to say “a small amount” without a comparison?
   • Use poco (almost nothing) or un poco (a little).

7. Mini practice: check yourself

Try to complete these sentences mentally before you look at the suggestion.

1. Our office is as modern as the head office.

   Nuestra oficina es __ moderna __ la central.

   Solution: Nuestra oficina es igual de moderna que la central.

2. We have more clients than last year.

   Tenemos __ clientes __ el año pasado.

   Solution: Tenemos más clientes que el año pasado.

3. The project lasts less than six weeks.

   El proyecto dura __ seis semanas.

   Solution: El proyecto dura menos de seis semanas.

4. The company invests very little in training.

   La empresa invierte __ en formación.

   Possible answers:

   • poco → strong criticism.
   • un poco → soft, more neutral.

8. What you should pay special attention to

• “que” or “de”?
  • que with nouns: más/menos libros que antes.
  • de with numbers/quantities: más/menos de 10 libros.
• Do not mix structures:
  • Either igual de + adjetivo + que, or más/menos + sustantivo + que.
  • Do not say: igual de reuniones que (adjective structure + noun).
• Word order is fixed:
  • más/menos + noun + que …
  • igual de + adjective/adverb + que …
• Nuance of “poco” vs “un poco”:
  • poco = almost nothing, negative.
  • un poco = a little, more neutral.

If you can choose the correct structure quickly and you are aware of the difference between que / de and poco / un poco, you are ready to focus on speaking practice in class.