Comparación - multiplicativo as positivo as / multiplicativo comparativo than
Si detrás de un multiplicativo (twice, three times, half, etc.) pones as + forma base + as o comparativo + than, indicas « veces más …».
Explicación
Si detrás de un multiplicativo (twice, three times, half, etc.) pones as + forma base + as o comparativo + than, indicas «~ veces más …». Las dos expresiones significan lo mismo, y el multiplicativo va siempre delante de la forma base o del comparativo.
A. Multiplicativos — twice, three times, half
Los multiplicativos son las expresiones que indican cuántas veces, como twice (dos veces), three times (tres veces), four times (cuatro veces), half (la mitad) o a third (un tercio). Se colocan obligatoriamente delante de as o del comparativo, y funcionan dentro de la oración como un sintagma adverbial.
| Multiplicativo | Sentido |
|---|---|
| twice | el doble |
| three times | el triple |
| four times | cuatro veces más |
| five times | cinco veces más |
| half | la mitad |
| a third | un tercio |
- Her salary is twice mine. (Su sueldo es el doble del mío.)
- The new house is three times the size of our old one. (La casa nueva es el triple de grande que la antigua.)
- I paid half the original price. (Pagué la mitad del precio original.)
B. multiplicativo + as + forma base + as — con forma base
multiplicativo + as + forma base + as es la construcción comparativa multiplicativa por excelencia y significa «~ veces más … que»; lo esencial de la forma es que la forma base se mantiene intacta. Las dos vías, multiplicativo: as + forma base + as = comparativo + than, tienen el mismo sentido.
| Forma | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| twice + as + forma base + as | This is twice as big as that. |
| three times + as + forma base + as | She works three times as hard as me. |
| half + as + forma base + as | My room is half as large as yours. |
- This box is twice as heavy as the other one. (Esta caja pesa el doble que la otra.)
- Anna reads three times as many books as I do. (Anna lee el triple de libros que yo.)
- His new apartment is half as expensive as the old one. (Su piso nuevo cuesta la mitad que el antiguo.)
- The lake is four times as deep as the river. (El lago es cuatro veces más profundo que el río.)
C. multiplicativo + comparativo + than — con comparativo
multiplicativo + comparativo + than es la vía que expresa el mismo sentido con una oración comparativa: el multiplicativo se coloca delante del comparativo y detrás sigue than + el término. Como ambas vías describen exactamente la misma situación, puedes elegir la que mejor encaje en el contexto.
| Vía con forma base | Vía con comparativo (mismo sentido) |
|---|---|
| This is twice as big as that. | This is twice bigger than that. |
| She works three times as hard as me. | She works three times harder than me. |
| The lake is four times as deep as the river. | The lake is four times deeper than the river. |
- This car is twice as fast as mine. = This car is twice faster than mine. (Este coche es el doble de rápido que el mío.)
- He earns three times as much as I do. = He earns three times more than I do. (Él gana el triple que yo.)
- Our new office is twice as large as the old one. = Our new office is twice larger than the old one. (Nuestra oficina nueva es el doble de grande que la anterior.)
- The exam was three times as difficult as last year's. = The exam was three times more difficult than last year's. (El examen fue el triple de difícil que el del año pasado.)
Ideas clave
- 1Los multiplicativos (twice, three times, half, etc.) se colocan obligatoriamente delante de as o del comparativo, y suenan forzados si van detrás. (Ej.: twice as big as, three times harder than)
- 2multiplicativo + as + forma base + as y multiplicativo + comparativo + than significan lo mismo y se pueden intercambiar con libertad. (Ej.: twice as big as = twice bigger than)
- 3Con twice, el uso habitual prefiere con mucha diferencia twice as + forma base + as a la forma twice + comparativo + than. (Ej.: This is twice as big as that.)
- 4Los multiplicativos menores que uno, como half y a third, se usan en la misma estructura y significan «la mitad de» y «un tercio de». (Ej.: My room is half as large as yours.)
- 5Lo que en español decimos como «el doble o el triple de …» se traduce al inglés con la mayor naturalidad mediante multiplicativo + as + forma base + as. (Ej.: el doble de grande → twice as big as)