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Intermediate Spanish

Adverbs of Quality
Comparisons with Adverbs

Comparisons with Adverbs by Sandra Rosenstiel

We're always told that we can't compare apples and oranges. But we've seen that we can compare qualities (adjectives) and activities (verbs). We can also compare the frequency or the manner in which activities are done using adverbs and comparison forms. Imagine that you're comparing two candidates, Alán and Sonia, for a promotion at work. You know what they are like and you know what they do, so now you've decided to compare the way they work to see if you can make a decision. Let's review the notes you made:

<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center" colwidth="50%"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center" colwidth="50%"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p>Alán</p></td> <td><p>Sonia</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>trabaja rápidamente (works quickly)</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>trabaja lentamente (works slowly)</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>trabaja metódicamente</emphasis></p> <p>(works methodically)</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>trabaja cuidadosamente</emphasis></p> <p>(works carefully)</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>comunica efectivamente</emphasis></p> <p>(communicates effectively)</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>comunica muy claramente</emphasis></p> <p>(communicates very clearly)</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>presenta sus reportes artísticamente</emphasis></p> <p>(presents reports artistically)</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>presenta sus reportes detalladamente</emphasis></p> <p>(presents reports in a detailed manner)</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>colabora bien con los demás</emphasis></p> <p>(collaborates well with others)</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>colabora muy bien con los demás</emphasis></p> <p>(collaborates very well with others)</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>llega a tiempo todos los días</emphasis></p> <p>(arrives on time every day)</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nunca pierde un día de trabajo</emphasis></p> <p>(never misses a day of work)</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Comparative Forms with Adverbs</h2> <p>According to your notes, <emphasis>Alán trabaja más rápidamente que Sonia, pero Sonia trabaja más cuidadosamente que Alán</emphasis> (Alan works more quickly than Sonia, but Sonia works more carefully than Alan). It isn't going to be easy to decide who the better candidate is based on that. Let's look at a few more examples:</p> <p><emphasis>Alán no colabora tan bien con los demás como Sonia.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>Sonia presenta menos artísticamente, pero más detalladamente que Alán.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>Sonia no llega tan puntualmente como Alán.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>Alán comunica tan efectivamente como Sonia.</emphasis></p> <p>Don't those comparative forms look familiar? The formulas are the same ones that you used for comparing with adjectives, except that the adjective is replaced by an adverb:</p> <p><B>Comparison of Equality</B></p> <p>tan + adverb + <emphasis>como</emphasis> (as … as)</p> <p><B>Comparisons of Inequality</B></p> <p>no tan + adverb + <emphasis>como</emphasis> (not as … as)</p> <p><emphasis>más</emphasis> + adverb + <emphasis>que</emphasis> (more … than)</p> <p><emphasis>menos</emphasis> + adverb + <emphasis>que</emphasis> (less … than)</p> <div class="npsb"> <h2></h2> <p>The comparative forms for the adverbs bien and mal are irregular in Spanish. Use mejor and peor just like you did when you compared the adjectives bueno and malo. To say that Alan speaks Chinese better than Sonia but Sonia speaks Spanish better, for example, say Alan habla chino mejor que Sonia, pero Sonia habla español mejor que Alán.</p> </div> <h2>Practice: Compare with Adverbs</h2> <p>Well, what are you going to do about Alan and Sonia? Answer the following questions and try to reach some conclusion. Check your responses with the sample answers in Appendix D. You'll also find translations of the questions in case you need them.</p> <ul> <li><p><emphasis>¿Quién trabaja menos rápidamente?</emphasis></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>¿Cuál de los dos trabaja más cuidadosamente?</emphasis></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>¿Quién colabora mejor con los demás?</emphasis></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>¿Quién comunica mejor?</emphasis></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>¿Quién llega más puntualmente?</emphasis></p></li> </ul> <p>So, who would you hire and why? See how important adverbs can be?</p> <bridgehead>Adverbs Make the Difference</bridgehead> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/intermediate-spanish/cd.jpg"> <div class="npcp"><p>TRACK 32</p></div> </div> <p>Practice with adverbs as you compare your activities to those of some other people. Look at and listen to the prompts, and make a comparative sentence for each set. Then listen to and repeat the sample answers. You can find the model answers written out in Appendix D.</p> <p><emphasis>tú / tu hermano / leer</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>tus padres / tus abuelos / ver televisión</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>tú / tu pareja / cocinar</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>tu hermano / tu sobrino / andar en bicicleta</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>ustedes / sus hijos / usar la computadora</emphasis></p>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/intermediate-spanish/out-and-about-verbs-and-adverbs/adverbs-of-quality.htm" title="Adverbs of Quality">Adverbs of Quality</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/intermediate-spanish/reflexive-and-transitive-verbs/" title="Reflexive and Transitive Verbs">Reflexive and Transitive Verbs</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/intermediate-spanish/out-and-about-verbs-and-adverbs/comparisons-with-adverbs.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> 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Verbs</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/intermediate-spanish/out-and-about-verbs-and-adverbs/adverbs-of-frequency.htm">Adverbs of Frequency</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/intermediate-spanish/out-and-about-verbs-and-adverbs/adverbs-of-quality.htm">Adverbs of Quality</a></li> <li class="btO">Comparisons with Adverbs</li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/category/the-everything-series/"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/intermediate-spanish/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a 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