More Than and Less Than in Spanish

More Than and Less Than in Spanish Spanish has two common ways of saying more than and two corresponding ways of saying less than - but they dont mean the same thing to a native Spanish speaker and arent interchangeable. Tip for Remembering the Rule on More Than and Less Than Both ms que and ms de are usually translated as more than, while menos que and menos de typically are translated as less than. Menos de is also frequently translated as fewer than. Fortunately, the basic rule for remembering which to use is simple: Ms de and menos de normally are used before numbers. (If you like mnemonic devices, think D for digit.) Ms que and menos que are used in making comparisons. (Think K for comparison.) Some examples of ms de and menos de: Pronto vamos a ver el aceite a ms de cinco euros por litro. (Soon were going to see oilat more than 5 euros per liter.)El estudio dice que las mujeres necesitan ms de un hombre para ser felices. (The study says women need more than one man in order to be happy.) ¿Es posible sentir amor por ms de una persona? (Is it possible to feel love toward more than one person? Note that while una can mean a, it also is the feminine form of the number one.)Las temperaturas mà ­nimas descendieron a menos de cero grados. (The low temperatures fell to less than zero degrees.)Hay muchos alimentos con menos de 100 calorà ­as. (There are many foods with fewer than 100 calories.)Adquirir una vivienda de menos de un millà ³n de pesos en la Ciudad de Mà ©xico es complicado, pero no imposible. (Purchasing a home for less on than a million pesos in Mexico City is complicated but not impossible.) Here are some examples of comparisons using que: Nadie te ama ms que yo. (Nobody loves you more than I do.)Eres mucho ms que tus sentimientos. (You are much more than your feelings.)Gano menos que ella. (I earn less than she does.)Yo estaba ms feliz que un nià ±o con juguete nuevo. (I was happier than a boy with a new toy.)Me duele ms que antes. (This hurts me more than before.)Soy blogger y sà ©Ã‚  mucho ms que si fuera polà ­tica. (Im a blogger and I know much more  than if I were a politician.)Se necesitan ms manos que trabajen y menos gente que critique. (Needed are more hands that work and fewer people who criticize.) Note that a comparison takes the following form: Subject verb more/less than subject verbSujeto verbo ms/menos que sujeto verbo More Examples of More Than and Less Than However, in both Spanish and English, the noun and/or verb in the second part of the sentence can be implied rather than stated explicitly. In the final sentences given, for example, both the noun and verb are omitted in the second half. This hurts me more than before (Me duele ms que antes) has the same meaning as This hurts me more than it hurt me before (Me duele ms que me dolà ­a antes). If you cant readily expand a sentence to such a form, then there is no comparison being made. Here are some more examples using ms de and menos de. Note how these sentences cant be restructured the same way a comparison can: La Wikipedia tiene ms de 100.000 artà ­culos. (The Wikipedia has more than 100,000 articles.)El estudiante promedio necesita ms de cuatro aà ±os para obtener su tà ­tulo. (The average student needs more than four years to earn his or her degree.)Son menos de las cinco de la tarde. (It is not yet 5 p.m.)Menos de uno de cada tres espaà ±oles con derecho a voto apoya el tratado. (Fewer than one out of three Spaniards with the right to vote support the treaty.) In those rare cases where ms de or menos de isnt followed by a number, de usually can be translated as of or about, never than. Le deseo muchos aà ±os ms de felicidad. (I wish you many more years of happiness.)Quiero saber ms de los dinosaurios. (I want to know more about dinosaurs.)Nike Air: un poco menos de dolor. (eslogan publicitario) (Nike Air: A little less hurt. (advertising slogan) An Exception to the Number Rule Where a comparison is being made, ms que can be followed by a number. Example: Tiene ms dinero que diez reyes, he has more money than 10 kings. To use de in the just-given example would be nonsensical (unless rey were a unit of money). There are a very few cases, however, where the distinction between ms de and ms que can eliminate an ambiguity thats present in the English more than. Take, for example, a sentence such as he can eat more than a horse. The sentence could be translated to Spanish in two ways, depending on what is meant in English: Puede comer ms que un caballo. (He can eat more than a horse can eat.)Puede comer ms de un caballo. (He can eat a greater amount of food than eating a horse.) The first example above is a comparison, while the second is not.