Question 1

Why is it igual de felices que instead of tan felices como?

Accepted Answer

Both phrases mean the exact same thing: 'as happy as'. The structure tan + adjective + como is very common, but igual de + adjective + que is another completely natural and everyday way to express equality. Just remember not to mix their pieces up: tan always pairs with como, and igual de always pairs with que.

Question 2

Since we are talking about more than one person, shouldn't igual be pluralized to iguales?

Accepted Answer

No, because in the set phrase igual de, the word igual is acting as an adverb (meaning 'equally'). Adverbs never change their form to match gender or number. However, notice that the adjective it modifies, felices, does change to match the plural subject.

Question 3

I thought aunque triggered the subjunctive mood. Why is it tienen (indicative) here instead of tengan?

Accepted Answer

Aunque can use either mood depending on the meaning! You use the indicative (like tienen here) when declaring a known, established fact: 'Even though they actually do have identical smiles.' You use the subjunctive only for hypothetical or unknown situations, which would change the meaning to: 'Even if they had identical smiles...'

Question 4

Why is felices spelled with a 'c' when the singular is feliz?

Accepted Answer

It is a strict spelling rule in Spanish: a z almost never goes before an e or an i. When you make a word ending in -z plural by adding -es, the z must change to a c to keep the same sound. So, the singular feliz becomes the plural felices.

Aunque tienen sonrisas idénticas, no son igual de felices que nosotros.

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