Comparisons of Equality(Las comparaciones de igualdad)

tan + adjetivo o adverbio + comoas + adjective or adverb + as

• Joaquín es tan amable como Roberto.Joaquín is as nice as Roberto.

• María habla tan despacio como su hermana.María speaks as slowly as her sister.

verbo + tanto + comoverb + as much + as

• Alberto estudia tanto como Manuel.Alberto studies as much as Manuel.

With these usages, tan and tanto both function as adverbs and are therefore, like all adverbs, invariable.

adjective

adver

b

verb

es tan pequeña comoEsta casa ésa.with an adjective

tan . . . como (as . . . as)

baila tan bien comoDora Ricardo.with an adverb

tan . . . como (as . . . as)

Dora

Ricardo

tanto como (as much as)

habla tanto comoMarilú su papá.

Blah, blah, blah

Blah, blah, blah

When used with a verb, tanto is an adverb and is therefore invariable.

with a verb, tan → tanto

1. tanto + masc. sing. noun + como• Arturo compra tanto queso como su hermano.

Arturo buys as much cheese as his brother.

However, tanto can also function as an adjective. Since its base form ends in o, it is a four-form adjective that agrees in

gender and number with the noun it modifies.

2. tanta + fem. sing. noun + como• Tú tienes tanta paciencia como Eugenio.

You have as much patience as Eugenio.

3. tantos + masc. pl. noun + como• Marta tiene tantos amigos como ustedes.

Marta has as many friends as you (all).

4. tantas + fem. pl. noun + como• Paquito come tantas enchiladas como su papá.

Paquito eats as many enchiladas as his dad.

tanto . . . como (as much . . . as)

tiene tanto dinero comoTeodoro.

with a masculine singular noun

Arturo

¡Tengo tanto dinero como tú!

ArturoTeodoro

tanta . . . como (as much . . . as)

come tanta comida comosus padres.

with a feminine singular noun

Juanito

Juanito

los padres de Juanito

tantos . . . como (as many . . . as)

tiene tantos globos comoAndrésLucas.

with a masculine plural noun

AndrésLucas

tantas . . . como (as many . . . as)

lee tantas novelas comoMariana Laura.

with a feminine plural noun

Mariana Laura

FIN