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Os cavalos não são tão lentos como os gatos.

Os cavalos não são tão lentos como os gatos.
The horses are not as slow as the cats.
From Lesson 54:Equality comparisons (tão... como)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Os cavalos não são tão lentos como os gatos.

How does the "as ... as" comparison work in this sentence?
You use the pattern tão + adjective + como. In this sentence, tão lentos como means "as slow as". You will use this exact structure whenever you are comparing two things to say they have the same amount of a quality.
Why is it lentos with an "s" instead of just lento?
In Portuguese, adjectives have to match the noun they are describing. Because os cavalos (the horses) is a masculine plural noun, the adjective describing them must also be masculine and plural, which gives us lentos.
Why does the sentence use são instead of estão for "are"?
We use são (from the verb ser) because it talks about a permanent trait or a general fact. Since the sentence is describing a general, built-in characteristic of horses compared to cats, rather than a temporary state, we need to use ser.
Why do we need os before gatos? Can we just say "como gatos"?
When talking about things in general, English often drops the word "the", but Portuguese almost always keeps it. You need the definite article os (the) before plural nouns like gatos, even when making a general comparison at the end of a sentence.

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