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El teléfono es tan práctico como la computadora.

El teléfono es tan práctico como la computadora.
The phone is as practical as the computer.
From Lesson 65:Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El teléfono es tan práctico como la computadora.

How does the tan ... como structure work in this sentence?
To compare two things that are equal, we use the formula tan + adjective + como. In this sentence, tan acts as the first 'as', práctico is the describing word ('practical'), and como acts as the second 'as'.
Why is it práctico and not práctica?
Describing words (adjectives) always have to match the gender of the noun they are describing. Here, we are describing the first noun, el teléfono (which is masculine), so we use the masculine form práctico. Even though the feminine noun la computadora is at the end of the sentence, the adjective belongs to the phone. If we flipped it around, it would be: La computadora es tan práctica como el teléfono.
Why do we use es instead of está?
You need to use es (from the verb ser) because being practical is a basic characteristic or built-in quality of a phone. We use está (from the verb estar) for temporary states, like if the phone is broken or turned off.
Is la computadora the only way to say 'computer'?
La computadora is the standard word for 'computer' in Latin America. If you talk to someone from Spain or use Spanish materials from Europe, you will often see el ordenador instead.

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