Breakdown of El ascensor de mi edificio es más rápido que las escaleras.
ser
to be
mi
my
de
of
más
more
rápido
fast
el ascensor
the elevator
el edificio
the building
que
than
las escaleras
the stairs
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Questions & Answers about El ascensor de mi edificio es más rápido que las escaleras.
Why does the sentence use el before ascensor and las before escaleras?
In Spanish, common nouns generally require a definite article even when you’re talking about them in a broad or abstract sense. So you say el ascensor (the elevator) and las escaleras (the stairs), just like you would say el agua (water) or los coches (cars).
Why do we say de mi edificio to show possession, instead of mi edificio ascensor or just mi ascensor?
Spanish normally expresses possession with de + owner after the noun: el ascensor de mi edificio (the elevator of my building).
- Mi ascensor is grammatically correct but implies you personally own the elevator, which isn’t the intended meaning.
- Putting the possessor before the noun (mi edificio ascensor) is not natural in Spanish.
Why is it es (from ser) and not está (from estar) in es más rápido?
Use ser for inherent, defining or long-term characteristics (like “speed” as a property of the elevator), and estar for temporary states or locations. Since the comparison is about the elevator’s inherent speed, you choose ser.
Why is the comparative formed as más rápido que and not más rápido de?
In Spanish, comparisons of inequality always use que after más (more) or menos (less). For example:
- más alto que (taller than)
- menos caro que (less expensive than)
Why is rápido (an adjective) used here, rather than rápidamente (an adverb)?
We’re describing ascensor (a noun), so we need an adjective (rápido). An adverb (rápidamente) would modify a verb, e.g. funciona rápidamente (it works quickly).
Why is más rápido placed after es instead of before the noun?
Comparative structures in Spanish follow the pattern [subject] + ser + más/menos + adjective + que + [object]. You don’t attach más to the noun but to the adjective:
“El ascensor es más rápido que las escaleras.”
Could we compare actions instead of objects, like “going up by elevator is faster than going up by stairs”?
Yes. If you want to compare the actions of climbing/riding, you’d use infinitives or gerunds:
Subir en ascensor es más rápido que subir por las escaleras.
But when you compare the objects themselves (elevator vs. stairs), you simply compare the nouns: el ascensor es más rápido que las escaleras.