Spanish Comparatives & Superlatives Practice

Q: When do I use más que and when más de?

Use más que to compare two people or things: Trabajo más que tú. Use más de before a number: más de cien euros. Before a whole clause with a verb, you need de lo que: Es más caro de lo que parece.

Q: Why is "más bueno" wrong?

Bueno, malo, grande (for age) and pequeño (for age) have irregular comparatives: mejor, peor, mayor and menor. They already contain the idea of "more," so adding más — "más mejor," "más mayor" — is always incorrect. Say Este libro es mejor que ese.

Q: What's the difference between tan and tanto?

Tan goes before adjectives and adverbs and never changes: tan alto como, tan rápido como. Tanto goes before nouns and agrees with them — tanto dinero, tanta paciencia, tantos amigos, tantas ideas — and after verbs it's the fixed pair tanto como: Trabajo tanto como tú.

Q: How do I say "the tallest in the class"?

With the article + más + adjective + de: el más alto de la clase. Spanish uses de where English uses "in" — el mejor restaurante de la ciudad. Saying "en la clase" after a superlative is the most common English-speaker mistake.

Q: How does -ísimo work?

Drop the final vowel and add -ísimo/-ísima: alto → altísimo, fácil → facilísimo. Watch the spelling changes: rico → riquísimo (c→qu), feliz → felicísimo (z→c), joven → jovencísimo (adds c). The form already means "extremely," so never combine it with muy.

Q: Are these exercises free?

Yes. All 30 exercises run right in your browser, need no signup, and give you a clear explanation after every answer.

Question 1

Madrid es ___ grande que Sevilla.

Accepted Answer

más. For "more... than" Spanish uses más + adjective + que. Muy means "very" and can't pair with que.

Question 2

El tren es ___ caro que el avión.

Accepted Answer

menos. For "less... than" use menos + adjective + que. Menor is the irregular comparative for age or size, not the word for "less."

Question 3

Este libro es más interesante ___ la película.

Accepted Answer

que. After más + adjective, the two things compared are linked with que. De only appears before numbers or clauses with lo que.

Question 4

Mi casa es ___ grande como la tuya.

Accepted Answer

tan. Before an adjective, "as... as" uses tan, never tanto. Tanto is reserved for nouns and verbs.

Question 5

Ella es tan alta ___ su hermano.

Accepted Answer

como. Equal comparisons close with como, not que. Que belongs to más/menos comparisons; mixing them (tan... que) changes the meaning.

Question 6

No tengo ___ dinero como tú.

Accepted Answer

tanto. Before a noun, use tanto and make it agree. Dinero is masculine singular, so it's tanto dinero — tan is only for adjectives and adverbs.

Question 7

No tengo ___ paciencia como mi madre.

Accepted Answer

tanta. Tanto agrees with the noun that follows. Paciencia is feminine singular, so it becomes tanta paciencia.

Question 8

Juan tiene ___ amigos como Pedro.

Accepted Answer

tantos. Amigos is masculine plural, so tanto becomes tantos. The agreement trap: tanto changes form, tan never does.

Question 9

En mi ciudad no hay ___ tiendas como en la capital.

Accepted Answer

tantas. Tiendas is feminine plural, so you need tantas. Always check both gender and number of the noun after tanto.

Question 10

Mi hermano estudia ___ yo.

Accepted Answer

tanto como. After a verb, "as much as" is the fixed pair tanto como — tanto never shrinks to tan here because there's no adjective.

Question 11

Este restaurante es ___ que el otro.

Accepted Answer

mejor. Bueno has the irregular comparative mejor — "más bueno" sounds wrong for quality. One word does the whole job of "better."

Question 12

Mi letra es ___ que la tuya.

Accepted Answer

peor. Malo has the irregular comparative peor. Like mejor, it never takes más in front of it.

Question 13

Mi hermana es ___ que yo; tiene treinta años.

Accepted Answer

mayor. For age, Spanish uses mayor, not "más grande" (that's physical size) and never "más mayor" — mayor is already a comparative.

Question 14

Pablo es ___ que su hermano; solo tiene cinco años.

Accepted Answer

menor. The irregular comparative for "younger" is menor. "Más menor" doubles the comparative and is always wrong.

Question 15

Es la ciudad más bonita ___ España.

Accepted Answer

de. After a superlative, Spanish uses de where English uses "in": la más bonita de España. "En" is the classic English-speaker trap here.

Question 16

María es ___ más inteligente de la familia.

Accepted Answer

la. The superlative article agrees with the person or thing described. María is feminine singular, so it's la más inteligente.

Question 17

Esta paella está ___.

Accepted Answer

riquísima. Rico + -ísimo needs the spelling change c → qu (riquísimo) and must agree with paella: riquísima. Never add muy to an -ísimo form.

Question 18

No conduzcas ___ rápido, por favor.

Accepted Answer

tan. Rápido works as an adverb here, and before adjectives and adverbs the short form tan is required — tanto would be wrong.

Question 19

Choose the correct form: "Ana tiene ___ paciencia como su madre."

Accepted Answer

tanta. Before a noun you need tanto, and it agrees with that noun. Paciencia is feminine singular, so it's tanta paciencia como.

Question 20

Which sentence has a comparative error?

Accepted Answer

Mi abuelo es más grande que mi padre.. To say your grandfather is older, use mayor: Mi abuelo es mayor que mi padre. "Más grande" talks about physical size, not age.

Question 21

La entrada cuesta ___ veinte euros.

Accepted Answer

más de. Before a number, más takes de, not que: más de veinte euros. "Más que veinte" is the trap English speakers fall into.

Question 22

Había más ___ cien personas en el concierto.

Accepted Answer

de. Cien is a number, so the comparison uses de: más de cien personas. Que would only be right if you were comparing two nouns.

Question 23

Trabajo más ___ mi jefe.

Accepted Answer

que. Here you compare yourself with a person (mi jefe), so it's más que. De is only for numbers and lo que clauses.

Question 24

El examen fue más difícil ___ esperaba.

Accepted Answer

de lo que. When the comparison is followed by a clause with a verb (esperaba), Spanish requires de lo que, not que: más difícil de lo que esperaba.

Question 25

Which sentence is wrong?

Accepted Answer

Es más tarde de que pensaba.. Before a clause with a conjugated verb, the bridge is de lo que: Es más tarde de lo que pensaba. "De que" is never a comparative link.

Question 26

Estamos ___ con la noticia del bebé.

Accepted Answer

felicísimos. Feliz + -ísimo triggers the spelling change z → c: felicísimo. It also agrees with "we," so it's felicísimos.

Question 27

Tu abuela parece ___; nadie diría que tiene ochenta años.

Accepted Answer

jovencísima. Joven inserts a c before -ísimo: jovencísimo. Agreeing with abuela gives jovencísima — and -ísimo forms never take muy.

Question 28

Este es el ___ hotel de toda la costa.

Accepted Answer

mejor. The superlative of bueno is el mejor, never "el más bueno." Note the de afterwards: el mejor hotel de la costa.

Question 29

Which is the correct way to say "My brother is older than me"?

Accepted Answer

Mi hermano es mayor que yo.. For people's age, the standard comparative is mayor que. "Más mayor" doubles the comparative and "más grande" refers to size.

Question 30

Which sentence has a superlative error?

Accepted Answer

Es el edificio más alto en la ciudad.. After a superlative, the group is introduced with de: el más alto de la ciudad. Translating English "in" as en is the classic trap.

Spanish Comparatives & Superlatives Practice

The rule, in plain English.

Practice.

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Adjective Agreement Practice

Ser vs Estar Practice

Numbers Practice

Common questions.