Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Más/menos debefore a clause

This usage occurs when the comparative precedes a subordinate clause with

its own finite verb.

If the comparison relates to a specific noun in the main clause, the pattern

is más/menos + del/de la/de los/de las + que, reflecting the number and

gender of that noun:

Tiene más dinero del que He has more money than he

necesita. needs.

Hubo menos problemas de There were fewer problems

los que esperaba. than I expected.

Has comprado más carpetas You’ve bought more folders

de las que necesitamos. than we need.

On the other hand, if the comparison refers to the main clause as whole,

rather than to a specific noun within it, the pattern is más de lo que:

Pedro es más listo de lo que Pedro is cleverer than we

creíamos. thought.

Cuanto másand cuanto menos

The English construction ‘the more/less... the more/less.. .’ is expressed

using cuanto más/menos... (tanto) más/menos.. .. Cuanto andtanto

agree with any associated noun, although tanto is nowadays usually

omitted from the second part of the construction.

Irregular comparatives may be used instead of más/menos.. ..

26.5

26.4.2^1111

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1011

1

12111

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

20111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

30111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

40

41111

26

Comparative
and
superlative
constructions

272

Comparisions involving de lo que

It may help to think of this as meaning ‘than what’, where demeans

‘than’ and lo quemeans ‘what’. In this way, the sentence Elena gana

menos de lo que pensaba can be thought of as meaning ‘Elena earns

less than what I thought’.