Cuantos más trabajos corregimos ahora menos tendremos
que hacer esta noche.
The more assignments we mark now, the fewer we’ll have to do
tonight.Cuanto más lo pienso menos me apetece.
The more I think about it the less I fancy it.
In speech cuantois often replaced by mientras: Mientras más lo toques más
te va a picar ‘The more you touch it the more it will itch’.Superlative constructions
AdjectivesThese are usually expressed in English by the suffix ‘-est’ (e.g. ‘the happiest’)
or by using the word ‘most’ (e.g. ‘our most sought-after product’).In Spanish they are typically rendered by the use of the definite article/
possessive adjective, a noun and a comparative adjective.
Detranslates a following ‘in’:
la montaña más alta de España the highest mountain in Spainnuestros productos más our most sought-after
solicitados products
su mayor éxito her greatest successIf the context allows, the noun can be omitted from this construction:
No compres la más cara. Don’t buy the most expensive
one.
Note: French speakers should be aware that Spanish does not repeat the article
before the comparative: compare ‘le garçon le plus intelligent de la classe’, with el
chico más inteligente de la clase‘the most intelligent boy in the class’.The definite article is notused in Spanish to form superlatives with adjec-
tives that are governed by verbs meaning ‘to be’, ‘to seem’, ‘to look’, ‘to
become’ etc:
Es en verano cuando el agua del mar está/se pone más caliente.
It’s in the summer that the sea is/becomes warmest.
Así es como queda más bonito. That’s the way it looks nicest.26.6.126.6
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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
Superlative
constructions