Comparación - not as ~ as = comparativo than = less than
Las tres construcciones not as as, comparativo than y less than expresan la misma situación desde ángulos distintos y son intercambiables entre sí, de modo que puedes decir libremente de tres maneras que A queda por deba…
Explicación
Las tres construcciones not as ~ as, comparativo than y less than expresan la misma situación desde ángulos distintos y son intercambiables entre sí, de modo que puedes decir libremente de tres maneras que A queda por debajo de B.
A. not as ~ as — negar la forma base
not as + forma base + as significa «el primer elemento no es tan … como el segundo», y se construye dejando intacta la forma base y añadiendo solo not delante. En las oraciones con verbo léxico, la negación se hace con don't o doesn't.
| Forma | Ejemplo | Sentido |
|---|---|---|
| A is not as + forma base + as B | This is not as expensive as that. | esto no es tan caro como aquello |
| A doesn't + verbo + as + forma base + as B | He doesn't run as fast as me. | él no corre tan rápido como yo |
- The coffee here is not as strong as at the other cafe. (El café de aquí no es tan fuerte como el de la otra cafetería.)
- Today isn't as hot as yesterday. (Hoy no hace tanto calor como ayer.)
- He doesn't work as hard as his colleagues. (Él no trabaja tanto como sus compañeros.)
B. comparativo than — invertir la dirección
Una oración con not as ~ as significa lo mismo si intercambias el sujeto con el término de comparación y la reescribes con comparativo + than. La equivalencia de las tres vías, not as ~ as = comparativo than (inverso) = less than (fijo), es la clave de esta unidad.
| Oración original (not as ~ as) | Conversión a comparativo than |
|---|---|
| This is not as expensive as that. | That is more expensive than this. |
| Anna isn't as tall as her sister. | Her sister is taller than Anna. |
| I don't run as fast as him. | He runs faster than me. |
- This car isn't as fast as that one. → That car is faster than this one. (Aquel coche es más rápido que este.)
- The exam isn't as difficult as last year's. → Last year's exam was more difficult than this one. (El examen del año pasado fue más difícil que el de este año.)
- He doesn't cook as well as his wife. → His wife cooks better than him. (Su mujer cocina mejor que él.)
C. less than — comparativo de inferioridad
less + forma base + than es la vía del comparativo de inferioridad, que expresa el mismo sentido manteniendo el sujeto y el término en su sitio; basta con añadir less delante, con la ventaja de que la estructura de la oración no cambia.
| Las tres expresiones | Ejemplo (mismo sentido) |
|---|---|
| not as ~ as | This is not as expensive as that. |
| comparativo than (inverso) | That is more expensive than this. |
| less than (fijo) | This is less expensive than that. |
- This book is not as interesting as that one. = This book is less interesting than that one. (Este libro es menos interesante que aquel.)
- Today isn't as cold as yesterday. = Today is less cold than yesterday. (Hoy hace menos frío que ayer.)
- He doesn't study as hard as his sister. = He studies less hard than his sister. (Él estudia menos que su hermana.)
- The new phone is not as expensive as the old one. = The new phone is less expensive than the old one. (El móvil nuevo es menos caro que el antiguo.)
Ideas clave
- 1Las tres construcciones not as ~ as, comparativo than y less than son equivalentes: expresan la misma situación de tres maneras. (Ej.: A is not as tall as B = B is taller than A = A is less tall than B.)
- 2Al pasar de not as ~ as al comparativo than hay que intercambiar obligatoriamente el sujeto y el término de comparación. (Ej.: This isn't as expensive as that → That is more expensive than this.)
- 3Al pasar a less than se mantienen los elementos en su sitio y basta con poner less + forma base + than en lugar de not as ~ as. (Ej.: This isn't as cold as that = This is less cold than that.)
- 4En la construcción not as ~ as, la parte de la forma base nunca se cambia por -er ni por more. (Ej.: not as tall as / X: not as taller as)
- 5Las expresiones españolas «no tan … como», «queda por debajo de» y «menos … que» se pueden traducir con naturalidad por alguna de estas tres construcciones. (Ej.: no tan … como → not as ~ as)