Learn Spanish (Spain): Aquí no hay tanto humo como allí. - There isn't as much smoke here as over there.

The word tanto changes to match the noun it describes. Because humo (smoke) is a masculine, singular noun, we use the masculine, singular form tanto. If you were talking about a feminine plural noun like apples (manzanas), you would say tantas manzanas como.

Why do we use tanto ... como here instead of tan ... como?

We use tanto (and its matching forms) when comparing quantities of a noun, which translates to "as much" or "as many". Tan is only used with adjectives or adverbs to mean "as" (for example, tan alto como means "as tall as"). Since humo is a noun, we need tanto.

Is there a difference between allí and allá?

Both words mean "there", but allí usually points to a specific place you can see or point to. Allá often implies a broader area or somewhere further away ("over there" or "way over there"). Both are perfectly understood, but allí is very common in Spain for contrasting directly with aquí (here).

Why does no come before hay?

In Spanish, the negative word no always goes immediately before the verb it is changing. Since hay means "there is", putting no right in front of it gives us no hay, meaning "there is not" or "there isn't".