Question 1

Why do we use tantos here instead of tan?

Accepted Answer

We use the word tanto (and its variations) when comparing quantities of nouns, meaning "as much" or "as many". Here, we are talking about a noun: empates (ties). We only use tan (as) when comparing descriptions, like adjectives or adverbs (for example, tan rápido como for "as fast as").

Question 2

Why is it tantos with an "-os" at the end?

Accepted Answer

Because tanto changes to match the gender and number of the noun it is counting. Since empates (ties) is a masculine plural noun, tanto changes to its masculine plural form, tantos. If the noun were feminine, like victorias (wins), we would say tantas victorias como.

Question 3

Why is it ese at the beginning but este at the end?

Accepted Answer

Ese means "that" and is used right before the noun it points to (ese equipo = that team). At the end of the sentence, este means "this one". It stands in for este equipo (this team) so we don't have to repeat the word equipo. Both are masculine and singular because they refer to the masculine noun equipo.

Question 4

Doesn't este need an accent mark when it means "this one"?

Accepted Answer

It used to! The official rules of Spanish changed in 2010. Before that, you had to write éste with an accent mark when it replaced a noun to avoid confusion with the adjective for "this". Now, the rule is to write este without an accent mark in both situations, though you will still see the accent in older texts.

Ese equipo tiene tantos empates como este.

Breakdown of Ese equipo tiene tantos empates como este.

Questions & Answers about Ese equipo tiene tantos empates como este.

Learn Ese equipo tiene tantos empates como este and more in Spanish