SYNTAX: COMPARISON

1. Most adjectives and adverbs can be compared. In Catalan, as in most languages, there are three degrees of comparison.

a) inferiority: menys + ADJ/ADV + que

l’Alícia és menys alta que la Clara	Alice is less tall than Clara
l’Alicia és menys interessant que la Clara	Alice is less interesting than Clara

a) equality: tan + ADJ/ADV + com

l’Alícia és tan alta com la Clara	Alice is as tall as Clara
l’Alicia tan interessant com la Clara	Alice is as interesting as Clara

a) superiority: més + ADJ/ADV + que

l’Alícia és més alta que la Clara	Alice is taller than Clara
l’Alicia és més interessant que la Clara	Alice is more interesting than Clara

The second term of the comparison is obviously not always expressed.

2. Catalan also knows superlative structures, which are built up within the Noun Phrase together with the definite article; a second part may be added, which limits the scope of the comparison:

l’Alícia és l’atleta més ràpida de l’equip	Alice is the quickest athlete in the team
l’Alícia és l’atleta menys castigada de l’equip	Alice is the less punished athlete in the team

3. There is a certain number of adjectives and adverbs presenting synthetic forms to express superiority, thus they are irregular:

SIMPLE ADJECTIVE / ADVERB	COMPARATIVE FORM
bo/bon (adjective)	millor
bé (adverb)
dolent/mal (adjective)	pitjor
malament (adverb)
gran	major
petit	menor

Nevertheless, these forms may turn out too formal. The trend in every day’s language is to substitute them for the “regular” forms, i.e.: més bo, més bé, més dolent, més gran, més petit.

It is possible to find millor and pitjor used attributively before a noun:

és la millor idea que has tingut	It is the best idea you’ve ever had
és la idea més bona que has tingut	It is the best idea you’ve ever had

4. Nouns are compared similarly:

l’Alícia té més diners que jo	Alice has more money than me
l’Alícia té tants diners com jo	Alice has as much money as me
l’Alícia té menys diners que jo	Alice has less money than me

5. A few explanations should be made concerning the comparison of nouns.

(a)  Equality comparison modifier varies its gender and number: tant, tanta, tants, tantes

l’Alícia té tanta por com jo	Alice is as afraid as me
l’Alícia té tantes amigues com jo	Alice has got as many friends as me
l’Alícia té tanta feina com jo	Alice has got as much work as me

 (b) All these modifiers may be followed by the preposition de, when preceding uncountable nouns:

l’Alícia té més aigua que jo	Alice has more water than me
l’Alícia té tanta d’aigua com jo	Alice has as much water as me
l’Alícia té menys aigua que jo	Alice has less water than me