Unit 11.1
Comparative Subordinate Sentences of Mood or Quality
Introduction
The subordinate clause [oración subordinada] is a compound sentence structurally dependent on another sentence’s nucleus, called the main sentence [oración principal].
There are three types of subordinate clauses: noun, adjective (or relative clauses) and adverbial [sustantivas, adjetivas (o de relativo) y adverbiales].
Comparative adverbial subordinate clauses [oraciones subordinadas adverbiales comparativas] indicate a comparison of equality, inferiority or superiority [igualdad, inferioridad o superioridad] concerning what is expressed in the main sentence, to which they are connected through nexuses. Comparative subordinate clauses of manner or quality [oraciones subordinadas comparativas de modo o cualidad] indicate quality concerning what is expressed in the main sentence.
Form
Comparative subordinate clauses of manner or quality are connected to the main sentence with the nexus como.
They have the following structure:
Subject + verb (+ adjective) + como + complement.
Example
- Yo soy científico como toda mi familia;
- Ellos hicieron los deberes de matemáticas como el profesor explicó en clase;
- Trabaja día y noche en su ordenador portátil como si no tuviera nada más en su vida;
- Cada vez tengo más claro que quiero escribirte un mensaje electrónico como si hubiera tenido una revelación;
- Todas las mañanas tengo que reiniciar el PC, es como si le hubiera entrado un virus.
Use
Comparative subordinate clauses of mood or quality are used to set two terms in opposition to each other based on a specific quality they both have.
Summary
In Spanish, the comparative subordinate clause of mood or quality is used to compare two terms for the same quality that they both have.
The structure are:
Subject + verb (+ adjective) + como + complement.
For example:
— «Yo soy muy buena cocinando como mi padre.» = compare two people (me, my father) with the same quality;
— «Mi ordenador se me ha estropeado como el tuyo» = comparing two computers (mine and yours) with the same quality.
Check the contents of the {Form} section. Then move on to the {Example} section, which shows you the usage in context.
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