Learn Spanish (Latin America): Él es igual de egoísta que mi hermano.

Él es igual de egoísta que mi hermano.

He is as selfish as my brother.

Breakdown of Él es igual de egoísta que mi hermano.

Questions & Answers about Él es igual de egoísta que mi hermano.

Why do we use igual de ... que instead of tan ... como to mean 'as selfish as'?

Both igual de egoísta que and tan egoísta como mean exactly the same thing: 'as selfish as'. You can use them interchangeably to compare adjectives or adverbs! Just remember not to mix up the pairs—it is always igual de ... que and tan ... como.

Why does egoísta end in -a when the subject (Él) is a man?

Some Spanish adjectives end in -ista for both masculine and feminine subjects. Words like egoísta (selfish), optimista (optimistic), and idealista (idealistic) never change their ending to -isto. If the subject were female, it would still be Ella es igual de egoísta.

Can I just say igual egoísta que and leave out the de?

No, when you use igual to compare an adjective (like egoísta) or an adverb, you must include de. Think of igual de as a fixed phrase meaning 'equally' or 'just as'. Without de, the sentence is grammatically incorrect in Spanish.

Why do we use es instead of está with egoísta?