Catalan comparisons do more than place two adjectives on a scale. They can identify a role with com, establish equality with tan… com or tant… com, mark inequality with més… que, and introduce an unreal resemblance with com si. English uses as, like, and than across these jobs; Catalan chooses the linker according to the structure and meaning.
The compared phrase is often shorter than a complete clause because shared material is omitted: La Laia corre més que en Pau means “Laia runs more/faster than Pau does.” This ellipsis is normal, but the remaining words must still make the intended comparison unambiguous.
The inflection of comparative adjectives and the irregular forms millor, pitjor, major, and menor are treated in the adjective comparison guide; this page concentrates on the link between the two terms.
Decision table
| Meaning | Pattern | Example core | Mood |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manner, resemblance, or role | com + noun/clause | com un professional | Usually indicative if finite |
| Equal degree of a quality | tan + adjective/adverb + com | tan lluny com | Usually indicative if finite |
| Equal quantity | tant + noun/verb + com | tanta feina com | Usually indicative if finite |
| Higher or lower degree | més/menys + X + que | més clar que | Usually indicative if finite |
| Unreal or imagined resemblance | com si + subjunctive | com si fos | Imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive |
Com: manner and resemblance
Com can mean “like,” “as,” or “the way that.” Before a noun it often describes resemblance or manner.
La criatura dorm com un tronc quan tornem de l'escola.
The child sleeps like a log when we get back from school.
Fes-ho com t'ho va ensenyar l'àvia.
Do it the way Grandma showed you.
Do not confuse resemblance with an actual role. In careful standard usage, com a introduces a capacity or function when the following noun lacks a determiner: com a portaveu (“as spokesperson”). Before a determiner, the a is normally absent: com el portaveu que és. This role distinction is related to comparison, although the present page focuses on clause linking.
Com a tresorera, la Núria signarà l'informe; com la resta de membres, el llegirà abans.
As treasurer, Núria will sign the report; like the other members, she will read it first.
That minimal contrast is structural: com a tresorera names Núria's function, while com la resta de membres compares her behavior with that of others.
Equality: tan… com and tant… com
Use invariable tan before an adjective or adverb. The second term is introduced by com, not by que.
El pis nou és tan lluminós com l'antic, però és molt més silenciós.
The new flat is as bright as the old one, but it is much quieter.
La Berta explica els canvis tan clarament com el director.
Berta explains the changes as clearly as the director does.
Use tant with a verb, and its agreeing forms tant, tanta, tants, tantes before nouns.
Aquest trimestre viatjo tant com abans, però passo menys nits fora.
This quarter I travel as much as before, but I spend fewer nights away.
No tenim tantes cadires com convidats.
We do not have as many chairs as guests.
In negative comparisons, tant… com still establishes the scale, while negation says equality is not reached. The scope differs between No treballa tant com tu (“He doesn't work as much as you”) and Treballa tant com tu no treballes (“He works as much as you fail to work”), the latter being marked and normally avoided unless contrast is deliberate.
Inequality: més… que and menys… que
Use que to introduce the standard after més or menys. It can follow an adjective, adverb, noun phrase, or verb.
El trajecte ha estat més curt que el d'ahir.
The journey was shorter than yesterday's.
La proposta ens costarà menys diners que la primera.
The proposal will cost us less money than the first one.
Conec millor Girona que no pas Tarragona.
I know Girona better than Tarragona.
In that last sentence, no pas is an optional emphatic marker used particularly when it helps clarify the two terms or strengthens the contrast. It does not negate Tarragona. It occurs across standard Catalan and is frequent in careful Central Catalan; learners may recognize it before adopting it actively. Plain que Tarragona is also correct.
Comparisons can contain a relative phrase whose verb selects a preposition. Catalan preserves that preposition rather than stranding it as English often does.
La persona amb qui col·laboro té més experiència que jo.
The person I collaborate with has more experience than I do.
The unit is col·laborar amb algú, so amb stays before qui. Do not copy English order as an invented sequence equivalent to “the person who I collaborate with.” Keep the Catalan verb's government even when the larger sentence also contains a comparison.
Ellipsis: leaving shared material unspoken
Comparison invites ellipsis because repeating the same predicate would be heavy. L'Ona llegeix més que l'Èric ordinarily means that Ona reads more than Èric reads. Context can, however, produce another interpretation: she reads Èric more than she reads someone else, if l'Èric is understood as a direct object. Catalan personal names with the personal article often reduce ambiguity, but word order alone cannot always resolve scope.
A la nit, l'Ona llegeix més novel·les que l'Èric.
At night, Ona reads more novels than Èric does.
This sentence includes a reordered constituent, A la nit. The compared phrase remains attached to més novel·les, not to the fronted time expression.
When ambiguity matters, restore the omitted verb:
L'Ona llegeix més novel·les que no en llegeix l'Èric.
Ona reads more novels than Èric reads.
The clitic en stands for novel·les in the second clause. Catalan ellipsis therefore interacts with clitic syntax: do not add an English-style pronoun where Catalan requires en or no overt object.
Com si: an unreal comparison
Com si introduces a scenario used as a comparison without asserting that the scenario is true. Standard Catalan therefore uses the imperfect subjunctive for a simultaneous or future-looking imagined situation and the pluperfect subjunctive for an imagined earlier event.
Em parla com si jo no sabés res del projecte.
She talks to me as if I knew nothing about the project.
Van marxar sense acomiadar-se, com si no ens haguessin vist.
They left without saying goodbye, as if they had not seen us.
Compare the minimal pair:
Ho explica com ho va viure.
He explains it as he experienced it. (The experience is presented as real.)
Ho explica com si ho hagués viscut.
He explains it as if he had experienced it. (The experience is not asserted as real.)
A natural dialogue
—La sala petita és tan còmoda com la gran? —És més tranquil·la que la gran, però no hi caben tantes persones com ens pensàvem. —Doncs en Marc parla com si ja l'haguéssim reservada!
—Is the small room as comfortable as the large one? —It is quieter than the large one, but it doesn't hold as many people as we thought. —Well, Marc is talking as if we had already booked it!
The dialogue moves from equality (tan… com) to inequality (més… que), quantity (tantes… com), and an unreal assumption (com si + pluperfect subjunctive).
Regional and register guidance
These core comparisons are pan-Catalan. Valencian, Balearic, Northwestern, Northern, and Alguerese varieties may differ in articles, pronouns, or preferred lexical items, but standard IEC and AVL comparison uses the same linkers. Spanish influence most often appears as como in place of Catalan com, or as tan… que where equality requires tan… com. Those are not accepted standard Catalan alternatives. (formal) prose may use no pas more frequently to sharpen contrast; it is not obligatory in ordinary conversation.
Short correction task
Correct the linker or mood.
- L'Anna és tan pacient que la seva germana.
- Parla com si sapigués la resposta.
- Tenim tan llibres com vosaltres.
L'Anna és tan pacient com la seva germana.
Anna is as patient as her sister.
Parla com si sabés la resposta.
He speaks as if he knew the answer.
Tenim tants llibres com vosaltres.
We have as many books as you do.
Common Mistakes
❌ Aquest ordinador és més ràpid com l'altre.
Incorrect — inequality with més takes que, not com.
✅ Aquest ordinador és més ràpid que l'altre.
This computer is faster than the other one.
❌ La meva habitació és tan gran que la teva.
Incorrect for equality — tan pairs with com.
✅ La meva habitació és tan gran com la teva.
My room is as large as yours.
❌ Treballa tant ràpid com tu.
Incorrect — an adverb is modified by tan, not tant.
✅ Treballa tan ràpid com tu.
She works as quickly as you do.
❌ Em mira com si estic enfadat.
Incorrect in standard Catalan — com si introduces a non-asserted scenario and requires the subjunctive.
✅ Em mira com si estigués enfadat.
She looks at me as if I were angry.
Key Takeaways
- Use com for manner or resemblance, tan/tant… com for equality, and més/menys… que for inequality.
- Tan modifies adjectives and adverbs; tant modifies verbs and agrees before nouns.
- Use com si with the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive because the compared scenario is not asserted as fact.
- Ellipsis is natural, but restore the verb or use a clitic such as en when omission makes the comparison ambiguous.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
- Comparatives with Més, Menys, Millor, and PitjorA2 — Compare qualities and quantities with més, menys, millor, pitjor, que, and de.
- The Complementizer QueA2 — Use que to introduce finite Catalan complement clauses after speech, thought, perception, emotion, and evaluation, without copying English omission or Spanish prepositions.
- Com Si and Other Irrealis FramesB2 — Choose the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive after com si according to whether an imagined comparison is simultaneous or anterior.
- Comparative and Proportional ClausesC1 — Build precise Catalan comparisons with més que, tan com, del que, ellipsis, and proportional com més… més clauses.
- Questions with PrepositionsA2 — How Catalan keeps required prepositions before qui, què, quin, and on in questions, including purpose, destination, source, and verb government.