In a textbook a sentence was given as:
“ Es muy gordo; come más que dos hombres ordinaries.”
My question is why is it not más de because of the “dos” being a quantitative factor. Is it a comparison?
In Spanish there are two ways to say "More/less than":
1. Using DE
Más de = More than
Menos de = Less/Fewer than
These forms will be used when we talk about quantities.
Have a look and listen to the following examples:
2. Using QUE
Más que = More than
Menos que = Less/Fewer than
These forms will be used when we talk about comparisons.
Have a look and listen to the following examples:
See also Using más/menos for more/less/fewer as adjectives, pronouns and adverbs
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Q&A Forum 1 question, 2 answers
Hola Sherri,
Yes, exactly. Although there is a number after que, it is expressing a comparison. He is comparing that man's eating to that of two men together. See how this would not work if we change the que for a "de":
"Es muy gordo; come más de dos hombres ordinarios."
This wouldn't make sense because it'd mean that he eats more than two men.
This other one would make for sense with "de":
"Es muy gordo; come más de dos kilos de patatas fritas cada semana."
(He is very fat; he eats more than 2 kilos of fries every week.)
I understand though, that finding this kind of sentence you found could be a bit confusing so I will add a note to the lesson.
I hope that helps.
Un saludo
Inma
Sherri asked:View original
más que vs. más de
In a textbook a sentence was given as:
“ Es muy gordo; come más que dos hombres ordinaries.”
My question is why is it not más de because of the “dos” being a quantitative factor. Is it a comparison?
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