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O rato não é tão inteligente como o gato.

O rato não é tão inteligente como o gato.
The mouse is not as intelligent as the cat.
From Lesson 54:Equality comparisons (tão... como)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about O rato não é tão inteligente como o gato.

How does tão... como work in this sentence?
It translates to "as... as" in English. We use tão followed by an adjective (inteligente) and then como to compare two things. Here, the word não at the start makes it a negative comparison, meaning "not as... as".
Why do we use é instead of está?
We use é (from the verb ser) because intelligence is considered a permanent or inherent characteristic of an animal, rather than a temporary state or condition.
Where does the negative word não go in this type of comparison?
In Portuguese, não generally goes immediately before the verb. That is why we say não é tão (is not as) instead of trying to put the "not" right next to the "as".
O rato is masculine. Would the word inteligente change if the sentence was about a feminine animal?
No, it would stay exactly the same! In Portuguese, adjectives that end in -e are usually gender-neutral, meaning they use the exact same form for both masculine and feminine nouns.

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