Difference between mas and más with tilde
Grammar is the part of linguistics that studies the structure of words, the way they are combined and the functions they fulfill in sentences. It includes the rules that govern the morphology of words and, to a great extent, the functions that they fulfill in a given language depend on it.
Within this branch, spelling determines the rules by which writing is governed, this is how some words have an accent and others do not, an accent being understood as the graphic symbol that establishes the accentuation of a certain syllable within a word. In most cases, monosyllabic words do not have an accent or spelling accent, but in others, the diacritic accent (tilde) is used to differentiate different meanings in words with exactly the same writing.
This is the case of the words -more- and -more- with an accent mark. Its writing and intonation is exactly the same but its meaning varies according to the context in which it is used and is indicated through the tilde.
In this article we will point out the definition of both words to delimit their use and thus establish their precise differences.
More
The word -mas- without tilde is a monosyllable word that corresponds to a conjunction or word that is used to unite two or more words in a sentence. In this case, it corresponds to an adversative conjunction, that is, it gives the opposite meaning to the words to be joined. That is why, -mas- without accent is synonymous with the words -but-, -however- or -sino- and are almost always used in the same context, as opposed to an idea. In the same way, it is an unstressed word, so it does not have an accent.
For example:
- I studied all night but I couldn’t understand everything.
- I didn’t manage to get the job, but I’m not going to stop trying.
Plus
The word more with an accent, is a monosyllable word that can have different uses, among them, it is an adverb of quantity when referring to the amount of elements, that is, it denotes superiority. Likewise, it is a comparative adjective when it is used to indicate a comparison between two or more elements. Additionally, it is a copulative conjunction that is used when a summation or addition is made and it is also a pronoun when it replaces the subject in a given sentence.
Más is a tonic word and has a tilde, which in this case is called a diacritical accent.
For example:
- He is the tallest in the class (adverb of quantity)
- She is bigger than her sister (comparative adjective)
- One plus one is two (copulative conjunction)
- There is no more (pronoun that replaces the subject)
Taking into account both the definitions and the previous examples, it becomes clear that there are important differences between the monosyllabic words –mas- and –más- with accents. These differences are summarized in this table:
| More | More with tilde |
| The word -more- has only one function (adversarial conjunction). | The word -more- can have several functions as adverb of quantity, comparative adjective, copulative conjunction or pronoun. |
| The word -mas- is unstressed so it does not have an accent. | The word -más- is tonic, which is why it has an accent mark. |