Comparing and measuring · French grammar A2

Contents · A2

In this part, you will learn to compare people and things and to say that something is changing. You will also learn to say how much and how often.

Comparing: the comparative and the superlative, plus … que, le plus#

The comparative is formed with plus, moins or aussi + que, and the superlative with le plus or le moins.

Le train est plus rapide que la voiture.The train is faster than the car.
Ma sœur est aussi grande que mon père.My sister is as tall as my father.
Il y a moins de touristes qu’en été.There are fewer tourists than in summer.
Le pain d’ici est meilleur que le pain de Paris.The bread here is better than the bread in Paris.
Ton frère danse mieux que toi.Your brother dances better than you.
C’est la plus belle plage de la région.It is the most beautiful beach in the region.
Paul est le plus jeune des trois frères.Paul is the youngest of the three brothers.

Formation

The comparative of an adjective or an adverb is formed with plus (“more”), moins (“less”) or aussi (“as”) before it.
The second term is introduced by que (qu’ before a vowel): plus grand que, moins cher que, aussi vite que.
Plus de, moins de and autant de come before a noun, with no article: Paul a plus de livres que moi. (“Paul has more books than me.”)
After a verb, plus, moins and autant are used alone: Je travaille autant que toi. (“I work as much as you.”)

Comparison	Adjective or adverb	Noun	Verb
more	plus … que	plus de … que	verb + plus que
less	moins … que	moins de … que	verb + moins que
as much	aussi … que	autant de … que	verb + autant que

Agreement and pronouns

In a comparison, the adjective agrees with the noun it describes, as usual.
A pronoun after que is a stressed pronoun: plus âgé que moi.
Le même … que means “the same … as”, and même agrees with the noun: la même robe que ma sœur, les mêmes chaussures que toi.

Irregular forms

The comparative of the adjective bon is meilleur, which agrees with the noun: meilleure, meilleurs, meilleures.
The comparative of the adverb bien is mieux, which is invariable.
The comparative of mauvais is pire (plural pires) or plus mauvais.

Word	Comparative	Superlative
bon (adjective)	meilleur	le meilleur
bien (adverb)	mieux	le mieux
mauvais (adjective)	pire, plus mauvais	le pire, le plus mauvais

Superlative

The superlative is formed with le, la or les + plus or moins + the adjective: le plus jeune, la moins chère.
The adjective is placed as usual, and after the noun the article is repeated: la chambre la plus calme. Before the noun, the article is used only once: le plus grand musée.
The group or place of comparison is introduced by de: le plus grand musée de la ville. De is contracted with the article: la plus jeune des filles.
With an adverb, the article is le, invariable: C’est elle qui court le plus vite. (“She is the one who runs the fastest.”)

Difference from English

In English, -er and -est are added to short adjectives: taller, the tallest. In French, plus and le plus are used with short and long adjectives: plus grand, le plus grand, plus intéressant.
English “than” and the second “as” are both que: plus grand que, aussi grand que.
English “fewer” and “less” before a noun are both moins de: moins de touristes, moins de temps.

Common mistakes

~~Ce café est plus bon que l’autre.~~ → Ce café est meilleur que l’autre.The comparative of bon is meilleur.
~~Elle danse meilleur que moi.~~ → Elle danse mieux que moi.With a verb, “better” is the adverb mieux.
~~C’est le plus grand magasin dans la ville.~~ → C’est le plus grand magasin de la ville.After a superlative, “in” is de.
~~J’ai aussi de livres que toi.~~ → J’ai autant de livres que toi.With a noun, “as many” is autant de.

Remember

You compare with plus, moins or aussi before the adjective and que after it: Il est plus grand que moi. (“He is taller than me.”)
You use plus de, moins de or autant de before a noun: autant de livres que toi.
You use meilleur for “better” with a noun and mieux with a verb: Tu cuisines mieux que ton frère. (“You cook better than your brother.”)
You use le plus for the superlative and de for the place: le plus grand musée de la ville.

You now know how to compare people, things and actions, and how to say which one is the best.

Practise

“Comparing and measuring: adjectives, plus… que, le meilleur”, Comparing with plus, moins, aussi … que “Comparing and measuring: adjectives, plus… que, le meilleur”, meilleur, mieux, pire “Comparing and measuring: adjectives, plus… que, le meilleur”, The superlative, le plus, le meilleur

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Saying that something changes: de plus en plus, de moins en moins#

De plus en plus (“more and more”) and de moins en moins (“less and less”) express a gradual change.

Les billets d’avion sont de plus en plus chers.Plane tickets are more and more expensive.
Mon grand-père marche de moins en moins vite.My grandfather walks more and more slowly.
Il y a de plus en plus de vélos en ville.There are more and more bikes in town.

Formation

De plus en plus and de moins en moins are placed before an adjective or an adverb.
With a verb, they are placed after the conjugated verb: Il travaille de plus en plus. (“He works more and more.”)
Before a noun, they are followed by de, with no article: Il a de plus en plus de travail. (“He has more and more work.”)
The adjective after de plus en plus agrees with the noun as usual: Les journées sont de plus en plus chaudes. (“The days are getting hotter and hotter.”)

Common mistakes

~~Le café est plus et plus cher.~~ → Le café est de plus en plus cher.In English, the comparative is repeated (“bigger and bigger”); in French, the expression is de plus en plus, with en.
~~Il a de plus en plus du travail.~~ → Il a de plus en plus de travail.Before a noun, de plus en plus is followed by de, with no article.

Remember

You use de plus en plus for a change that grows: La ville est de plus en plus belle. (“The town is more and more beautiful.”)
You use de moins en moins de before a noun: de moins en moins de temps.

You now know how to say that something grows or decreases over time.

Practise

“Comparing and measuring: adjectives, plus… que, le meilleur”, de plus en plus, de moins en moins

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Saying how much and how often: assez, peu; souvent, parfois, rarement#

Assez and peu express a quantity, souvent, parfois and rarement a frequency, and with a verb all come after it.

Ce pantalon est assez grand pour toi ?Are these trousers big enough for you?
Tu as assez d’argent pour le cinéma ?Do you have enough money for the cinema?
Il y a peu de neige cette année.There is little snow this year.
Mes amis viennent souvent chez moi.My friends often come to my place.
Parfois, je prends le métro.Sometimes I take the underground.
Elle a rarement vu la mer.She has rarely seen the sea.
Le dimanche, mes parents vont souvent au marché.On Sundays my parents often go to the market.

Formation

Assez (“enough”, “quite”) and peu (“little”, “not very”) are placed before an adjective or an adverb: assez grand, peu cher.
With a verb, assez and peu are placed after the conjugated verb: Il mange peu. (“He doesn’t eat much.”)
Before a noun, assez and peu are followed by de, with no article: assez de place, peu d’eau.
Assez + adjective + pour + infinitive means “… enough to”: assez fort pour porter la valise.

Peu de or un peu de

Peu de expresses a small quantity, almost a negative idea (“little”, “few”): Il a peu d’amis. (“He has few friends.”)
The form un peu de expresses a small but positive quantity (“a little”, “some”): Il a un peu d’argent. (“He has a little money.”)

Frequency

The frequency adverbs toujours (“always”), souvent (“often”), parfois (“sometimes”) and rarement (“rarely”) are placed after the conjugated verb.
In the passé composé (past simple), the adverb comes between the auxiliary and the participle: Nous avons souvent mangé ici. (“We have often eaten here.”)
Parfois and souvent can also be placed at the start of the sentence, followed by a comma.
Rarement already has a negative meaning and is used without ne.

Difference from English

In English, often, always and rarely are placed before the verb: “she often works”. In French, the adverb is placed after the verb: elle travaille souvent.
English “enough” comes after an adjective (“big enough”); assez comes before it: assez grand.

Common mistakes

~~Il souvent travaille le soir.~~ → Il travaille souvent le soir.The frequency adverb is placed after the conjugated verb.
~~Nous avons assez du temps.~~ → Nous avons assez de temps.After assez and peu, the noun has no article.

Remember

You place the frequency adverb after the conjugated verb: Elle lit souvent le soir. (“She often reads in the evening.”)
You use assez de and peu de before a noun, with no article: assez de temps.
You place assez before an adjective: assez grand pour toi.

In short

Meaning	Form	Example
comparative	plus, moins, aussi + adjective + que	plus cher que
with a noun	plus de, moins de, autant de + noun + que	autant de frères que toi
irregular	meilleur, mieux, pire	Il va mieux.
superlative	le, la, les + plus, moins + adjective + de	la plus belle de la classe
growing change	de plus en plus, de moins en moins	de plus en plus cher
quantity	assez, peu; assez de, peu de + noun	peu de temps
frequency	toujours, souvent, parfois, rarement after the verb	Il vient souvent.

You now know how to say how much and how often, and where to place these words.

Practise

“Comparing and measuring: adjectives, plus… que, le meilleur”, Enough, not much: assez, peu, assez de, peu de “Prepositions and adverbs of place and time: souvent, près de, depuis, d'abord”, Frequency adverbs: souvent, parfois, rarement, toujours

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