Comparing things with más, menos, tan, y tanto

Look at this sentence:

The hospital is more interesting than the museum.

When comparing two things in Spanish, there are specific formulas we can use to make things easier. For instance, saying something is less or more we use this formula:

→ más (more)/ menos (less) → adjective (description)/noun (place, person, thing) → que (than)

El hospital es más interesante que el museo.

When comparing two equal things, we use a different formula: tan and tanto. When describing things with adjectives (for example: She is tall as the car) we use tan. The formula for comparing two things that are equal to with adjectives is:

→ tan → adjective → como (as)

Ella es tan alta como es el automóvil.

When comparing two equal things with nouns (for example: There are as many parks in your community as in mine) we use tanto. NOTE: When using tanto, you have to match it with the noun it is describing. (for example: el parques → tantos) The formula for comparing two things that are equal to with adjectives is:

→ tanto/a(s) → noun → como

Hay tantos parques en tu comunidad como en la mía.

When comparing two equal actions with verbs (for example: I walk in the park as much as in the gym) we use tanto como. Since you are comparing verbs, they don’t have to match tanto with the verb.

Camino en el parque tanto como en el gimnasio.