9 Les adverbes comparatifs: plus et moins

Plus +

Pronunciation Alert: plus has a silent “s”before adjectives and adverbs

With adjectives and adverbs, we use this format:

plus         que

Je suis plus grande que ma sœur.

Mon père parle plus lentement que ma mère.

With nouns, we use this format:

plus de        que

Ma sœur a plus d’amis que moi*.

With verbs, we use this format:

      plus que…

Marie lit plus que son petit ami.

Je fais la cuisine plus que mon mari. Thibault court plus que son meilleur ami.

Moins –

With adjectives and adverbs, we use this format:

moins       que

Danny DeVito est moins grand que Shaq. Nous courons moins rapidement que Usain Bolt.

With nouns, we use this format:

moins de       que

La prof a moins de chats que sa mère.

With verbs, we use this format:

     moins que…

Je travaille moins que mes camarades de classe. Ma mère voyage moins que mon père.

Alexandre parle moins que toi*.

*Note the use of emphatic pronouns, les pronoms toniques, in comparative sentences.

Les irréguliers

We have a few irregulars in French as we do in English. For example, in

plus bien plus bon plus mal

English we don’t say “gooder;” we say “better.”

In French, we use mieux for better as an adverb, meilleur.e for better as an adjective, and pire for worse.

mieux meilleur.e pire

Plus mauvais is used, oftentimes regarding taste, but the word pire is used to mean “worse” most frequently, and is required in some instances. As a general rule, use pire except when talking about flavor or taste.

Building Phrases with Les adverbes comparatifs

Just as we do in English, we can compare a variety of different things using comparative adjectives in French. In English, we think of these as more than/less than phrases. Conveniently for English speakers, the structure of these phrases is very similar in English and in French.

As you we learned on the previous page, we are breaking these comparative phrases up into different structures depending on what we are comparing.

Adjectives and Adverbs—the “s” in plus is silent:

In English, we have two different ways to deal with this type of comparison, and this is really difficult for English learners! If English is your first language, you will likely know what “sounds right” without thinking about it. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:

This necklace is prettier than that necklace.

This necklace is more beautiful than that necklace. This necklace is uglier than that necklace.

This necklace is less attractive than that necklace.

This is much easier in French because we only have one form to keep track of: more/less than.

He is taller than her. Il est plus grand qu’elle.

She is shorter than him. Elle est moins grande que lui. They (f.) are stronger than them (m.). Elles sont plus fortes qu’eux. They (m.) are stronger than them (f.). Ils sont plus forts qu’elles.

We talk more slowly than you (do). Nous parlons plus lentement que toi.

Nouns—the “s” in plus is pronounced:

When we are talking about how much or how many of something one has compared to someone else, we follow a very similar form, but we add de meaning of.

I have more pens than him. J’ai plus de stylos que lui.

You have more money than they (do). Vous avez plus d’argent qu’eux.

We have less time than you (do). Nous avons moins de temps que toi.

Verbs—the “s” in plus is pronounced:

When we are talking about things one does compared to someone else, we change the word order (just like we do in English).

I work more than her (she does). Je travaille plus qu’elle. She talks less than him (he does). Elle parle moins que lui. You study more than me (I do). T u étudies plus que moi.

Notice that we are using the subject pronouns to start the comparison and the emphatic pronouns moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles after the que in these comparisons.

E x E r c i c E 8 . 2 4

Toi et ton meilleur ami.e. Answer the following questions using complete sentences and comparisons of inequality. For this activity, the silent “s” has been replaced by the symbol $ and is used to show a liaison. Modèle: Qui est plus aventureux.se, toi ou ton/ta meilleur.e ami.e? Je suis plus aventureuse qu’elle.

1. Qui est plu$ grand.e, toi ou ton/ta meilleur.e ami.e ?
2. Qui est plu$ sociable, toi ou ton/ta meilleur.e ami.e ?
3. Qui est plus âgé.e, toi ou ton/ta meilleur.e ami.e ?
4. Qui a plus de chaussures, toi ou ton meilleur ami ?
5. Qui étudie plus, toi ou ton meilleur ami ?

E x E r c i c E 8 . 2 5

À ton avis… In your opinion… Make comparisons to give your opinion about the following match-ups. Be sure to watch for the irreguliers.

1. Est-ce que l’automne est meilleur que le printemps à ton avis ?
2. Est-ce que l’hiver est pire que l’été à ton avis ?
3. Qui est plus intelligent à ton avis, Bill Gates ou Steve Jobs ?
4. Qui est moins fort à ton avis, Superman ou Hulk ?
5. Est-ce que New York est moins grand que Los Angeles ?
6. Qui joue mieux à ton avis, Tom Brady ou Russell Wilson ?

E x E r c i c E 8 . 2 6

Le règne animal. Write a sentence using plus and a sentence using moins to compare these members of the animal kingdom. Use the word bank to assist you.

Modèle: Les tortues se déplacent moins rapidement que les lièvres.

Mots Possibles

Rapidement Lentement Féroce.s

Gâté.e.s (spoiled) Drôle.s Intelligent.e.s Dangereux.euse.s Paresseux.euse.s Amusant.e.s Curieux.euse.s Grand.e.s Petit.e.s Agressif.ve.s Sociable.s Obstiné.e.s

1. les chevaux versus

   les ânes

2. les chiens versus

   les chats

3. les gorilles versus

   les singes

4. les dauphins versus

les requins