How French works
The comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb that indicates that the quality being described is possessed to a greater extent. For example in the sentence He is taller than I am, the word taller is a comparative adjective; and in the sentence He did better than I did, the word better is a comparative adverb .
The superlative is the form of an adjective or adverb that expresses the highest or a very high degree of the quality being described. For example in the sentence She is the brightest pupil in the class, the word brightest is a superlative adjective; and in the sentence Of all the students, she performed best, the word best is a superlative adverb .
Generally, a comparative adjective is formed in French using plus, moins or aussi, whilst que links one noun or pronoun with another noun or pronoun (equivalent of than in English).
Il est plus fort que moi en math
He is better than me in maths
Generally, a superlative adjective is formed using the definite article le, la, les with plus or moins.
C'est lui le plus fort de la classe
He's the strongest in the class
When applied to adjectives used before the noun , the superlative is quite straightforward:
C'est le plus grand fabricant de voitures du monde
It is the largest car producer in the world
Note here that when English uses the preposition in after a superlative adjective (the best in the world), French prefers de (le meilleur du monde).
Where aussi comes after a negative it can be replaced by si:
La situation n'est pas aussi si grave qu'il y a dix ans
The situation isn't as serious as it was ten years ago
When the adjective being used normally comes after the noun , the definite article must be used with the superlative adjective as well as the noun:
C'est le pays le plus riche du monde
It's the richest country in the world
Failure to repeat the definite article in this way can result in a different meaning:
Les membres plus riches de l’Union Européenne
The richer members of the European Union
Les membres les plus riches de l’Union Européenne
The richest members of the European Union
The definite article must be used with the superlative adjective even if the preceding noun is qualified by a possessive adjective :
Sa qualité la plus impressionnante résidait dans sa capacité de garder son sang-froid
His most impressive quality was her ability to stay calm
Of course, the adjective and its article must agree with the preceding noun :
C'est de loin la fille la plus intelligente de la classe
She's easily the brightest girl in the class
This applies even if the noun is part of a phrase beginning l'un des:
L'un des avantages les plus évidents de ce système réside dans son efficacité
One of the most obvious advantages of this system is its efficiency
In English a superlative adjective can be used in conjunction with an ordinal number , as in:
It's the fourth largest car producer in the world
In French such a construction is not possible. For most cases it is possible simply to ignore the adjective and rely on the context to make the meaning of the adjective clear:
C'est le 4ème fabricant de voitures du monde
Remember that in a relative clause following a superlative adjective , the verb must be in the subjunctive (see 23:1.1.1):
C'est la situation la plus grave que j'aie jamais connue
It's the most serious situation I've ever seen
Note the irregular adjectival forms:
| adjective | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bon | meilleur | le meilleur |
| good | better | best |
| mauvais | plus mauvais / pire | le plus mauvais / le pire |
| bad | worse | worst |
As with adjectives , a comparative adverb is formed using plus, moins or aussi, with que acting as link word (equivalent of than in English):
Il a réagi plus calmement que moi que je ne le craignais
He reacted more calmly than I did / than I expected
A superlative adverb formed using the definite article le with plus or moins:
C'est Marie qui a couru le plus vite
It was Marie who ran fastest
Note that the le is invariable , i.e. you do not write *C'est Marie qui a couru la plus vite.
Note the irregular adverbial forms:
| erb | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bien | mieux | le mieux |
| well | better | (the) best |
| beaucoup | plus | le plus |
| many / a lot | more | (the) most |
| peu | moins | le moins |
| few | less | (the) least |
Note that bien can also be used as an adjective , taking the same comparative and superlative forms of bien the adverb . It can have various meanings, e.g.:
Ce livre est très bien
This book is very good
Elle est très bien dans cette robe
She nooks very pretty / nice in that dress
C'est une personne très bien
He / She is very trustworthy
Je suis bien ici
I feel very at ease / happy here
Je suis bien dans ces chaussures
These shoes are very comfortable
Je ne me sens pas bien
I don’t feel well
Note also that mal meaning badly has the comparative plus mal, and the superlative le plus mal. However the irregular forms pis and le pis are still used in set expressions such as tant pis (too bad) or de mal en pis (from bad to worse).
When using plus ... que or moins ... que followed by a verb , ne is sometimes added before the verb without any negative meaning. This is called an expletive ne, and in this context is optional:
La situation est plus grave que je nele croyais
The situation is more serious than I thought
However, ne is not used when using aussi ... que:
La situation n'était pas aussi grave que je le croyais
The situation was not as serious as I had thought
Where plus, moins or aussi are followed by que plus a verb , the verb is often preceded by the neutral pronoun le:
Cet étudiant est plus doué que je ne l'ai d'abord cru
This student is more gifted than I first thought
If there is a comparison between two courses of action, and the main clause verb is not normally followed by a preposition , the second infinitive is usually preceded by de:
J'aimerais mieux rester à la maison que d'aller en ville
I'd prefer to stay at home than to go into town
There is no de before the second infinitive if the ideas expressed by the infinitives are more abstract:
Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir
Better safe than sorry
However, if the infinitives are governed by another preposition , this preposition will precede both infinitives:
C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire
It's easier said than done
Note that while English uses the definite article before the comparative word in double comparisons, French doesn't:
Plus je travaille, plus je comprends
The more I work, the more I understand
When used to indicate more than or less than a specific quantity, than is translated by de:
plus de 10 francs
more than ten francs
en moins d'une année
in less than a year.
Otherwise que is used:
Il gagne plus que toi
He earns more than you.
Note than when using the intensifier possible the que is left out in superlative expressions:
le plus tôt possible
as soon as possible
le moins possible
as little as possible
But not in comparative expressions:
aussi vite que possible
as quickly as possible
autant que possible
as much as possible
When used as a comparative or superlative plus is generally pronounced [ply] (like tu):
Il est plus petit que moi
He's smaller than me
Elle est la plus petite de sa famille
She's the smallest in her family
Elle a réagi plus rapidement que moi
She reacted more quickly than I did
C'est elle qui a réagi le plus rapidement
It was she who reacted the most quickly
Plus on lit, plus on apprend
The more you read, the more you learn
If plus is followed by a vowel then it is pronounced [plyz] (i.e. soft -s):
C'est l'élève la plus intelligente de la classe
She's the cleverest in the class
If plus comes at the end of a clause it is generally pronounced [plys] (i.e. hard -s):
Elles sont toutes les deux douées mais Marie l'est plus
They are both gifted, but Marie is more so
An exception to this is in ne...plus constructions, where the pronunciation is always [ply].
In the structures plus que and plus de both [ply] and [plys] can be used.
When used in the sense of mathematical addition, the pronunciation is [plys].
Deux plus deux font quatre
Two plus two make four