Learn Spanish (Latin America): El océano es menos tranquilo que el mar.

El océano es menos tranquilo que el mar.

The ocean is less calm than the sea.

Breakdown of El océano es menos tranquilo que el mar.

to (telling time) / minus / less

Questions & Answers about El océano es menos tranquilo que el mar.

How does the comparison "menos ... que" work here?

To say one thing has less of a quality than another, Spanish uses the pattern menos + adjective + que. In this sentence, we put the adjective tranquilo in the middle to get menos tranquilo que (less calm than).

Why does this sentence use "es" instead of "está"? Isn't being calm a temporary state?

You can definitely use estar with tranquilo to say someone is feeling calm right now (está tranquilo). However, this sentence is stating a general, permanent fact about the nature of the ocean compared to the sea. For describing essential characteristics, we use ser (which gives us es).

Does the adjective "tranquilo" agree with "el océano" or "el mar"?

It agrees with the first noun, el océano, because that is the subject being described. Since el océano is masculine and singular, we use the masculine singular adjective tranquilo. If the first noun were feminine, like a lagoon (la laguna), it would change to menos tranquila que.

Why does "océano" have an accent mark?

The accent mark tells you which syllable to stress when speaking. Without it, the normal Spanish pronunciation rules would put the stress on the second-to-last syllable ("o-ce-A-no"). The accent tells you to stress the "e" instead: "o-CE-a-no".