Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Ela está mais cansada do que ele hoje.

Ela está mais cansada do que ele hoje.

She is more tired than him today.

Breakdown of Ela está mais cansada do que ele hoje.

to be (temporary / location)

cansado

tired

Questions & Answers about Ela está mais cansada do que ele hoje.

Why do we use do que for "than" instead of just que?

In Portuguese comparisons, "more... than" is expressed as mais... do que. You can actually drop the do and just say mais cansada que ele, but including do que is very common and sounds perfectly natural in Portugal.

Why is it cansada and not cansado?

Adjectives must match the gender of the person they describe, even inside a comparison. Since the subject is Ela (She), the word for tired takes the feminine form cansada. If the sentence started with Ele (He), it would be Ele está mais cansado.

Why does the sentence use está instead of é for "is"?

The verb estar is used for temporary states and conditions. Being tired is how she feels today (hoje), not a permanent trait. If we used é (from the verb ser), it would imply she is a permanently tired person!

In English we say "than him", so why does the Portuguese sentence use ele (he)?

After do que, Portuguese uses subject pronouns like ele (he), ela (she), or eu (I). It is grammatically similar to saying "She is more tired than he (is)" in English.