Clausal comparatives with "de lo que"
When you want to compare a situation to a previous expectation, belief, or state, you can use a clausal comparative. If the comparison centers around an adjective or an adverb, use más or menos, followed by the adjective or adverb, and then de lo que (than what).
| The gas bill is much higher than what they told me. | La factura del gas es mucho más alta de lo que me dijeron. |
| The heating consumed gas faster than we expected. | La calefacción consumió gas más rápido de lo que esperábamos. |
Comparing amounts of nouns
If your comparison centers around a specific noun (like more gas or fewer kilowatts), the phrase must agree with the gender and number of that noun.
Instead of the neuter de lo que, use the following forms:
- Masculine singular: del que
- Feminine singular: de la que
- Masculine plural: de los que
- Feminine plural: de las que
Notice how the comparative phrase in each of the following examples matches the noun being discussed (gas, electricidad, kilovatios, and horas):
| The apartment consumes less gas than we estimated. | El departamento consume menos gas del que nosotros estimamos. |
| The heating uses more electricity than what the thermostat indicates. | La calefacción usa más electricidad de la que indica el termostato. |
| We saved fewer kilowatts than the technician estimated. | Ahorramos menos kilovatios de los que estimó el técnico. |
| With good insulation, the thermostat works fewer hours than you think. | Con un buen aislamiento, el termostato trabaja menos horas de las que tú crees. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io