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I suppose a situation: a friend of mine has just bought a new TV, and tells me how big it is. Then, I see it and say: "it's not as big as you say."

I think I can say it the following way: "No es tan grande como dices." (Is this correct?) But, can I say: "No es igual de grande como dices."?

A friend of mine (from Ecuador) said it's incorrect, that 'igual de ... como' is only used to compare two things, and '... como dices' is not a thing, hence the whole sentence is incorrect. Is this correct?

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    igual is a [mere] adjective but tan a comparative adjective. Thus, just tan can be used in this context. I would like to be able to expand this explanation a bit further, but right now to me it is just about one sounding well an the other one not at all. – fedorqui 'SO stop harming' Nov 7 '15 at 16:58
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This is the right translation:

No es tan grande como dices.

By saying:

No es igual de grande como dices.

you are grammatically incorrect, as you cannot use the "como" adverb with the "igual" adjective. You should use "que":

No es igual de grande que lo que dijiste.

Here you have the font: http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/srv/search?id=x7saBlU6HD6TWcwPVu

Point 2.

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No es tan grande como dices.

I think is a right translation, anyway this:

No es igual de grande como dices

it is right also but sounds strange.

I am from Spain and our spanish is different that the Spanish in South America.

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    "No es igual de grande como dices" no es correcto, puesto que esta frase equivale a "como dices, no es igual de grande" dejando indefinido a que se compara. Lo más cercano sería "No es igual de grande a como dices" y aún asi resulta forzado. "No es tan grande como dices" es la forma más usual y correcta. – user11222 Nov 7 '15 at 19:24
  • Esta claro que por si sola esa frase no tiene sentido, pero si esta contextualizada, como en este caso, si que se queda definido lo que se compara, el tamaño de la televisión. De cualquier forma la frase suena muy forzada aunque se entiende lo que quiere expresar – Fernando Luján Nov 7 '15 at 19:34
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The correct translation for "it's not as big as you say", would be:

No es tan grande como dijiste

The exact translation of "say" is "decir", but this action has occured in the past so you need to use the past tense of the verb "decir".

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  • It would be great if whoever voted down my answer can explain why. I am spanish native speaker and I am 100% sure that my answer is right. – cventu Nov 15 '15 at 14:08
  • The original phrase is in present (say). It means the friend said it and keeps affirming it. If it was "It's not as big as you said" (the friend said it once in the past and may or may not keep affirming it) then your observation would be correct – spiral Nov 18 '15 at 20:03
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  • No es tan grande como dices. --> It's not as big as you say (it's smaller)
    as / as --> tan / como

  • No es igual de grande como dices. --> It has not exactly the same size as you say (it could be bigger, it could be smaller)

    (I agree Ferchitas, in Spanish from Spain it sounds weird, maybe it sounds better in some American countries)

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