French Comparative
The comparative is a grammatical construction that compares items in one of three
ways:
1. more ... than
2. less ... than
3. as ... as
French comparatives vary depending on whether you're comparing adverbs,
adjectives, verbs, or nouns.
1) Comparative of adverbs
English French
more <adverb> than <adverb>-er
plus <adverbe> que
than
moins <adverbe>
less <adverb> than
que
as <adverb> as aussi <adverbe> que
For example
Il parle plus vite que moi. - He speaks more quickly than I do.
Sandra s'habille moins élégamment que lui. - Sandra dresses less elegantly than he
does.
Je chante aussi bien que ma tante. - I sing as well as my aunt.
Note: After a comparative, French requires the stress pronoun (rather than a subject
pronoun).
2) Comparative of adjectives
English French
more <adjective>
than plus <adjectif> que
<adjective>-er than
moins <adjectif>
less <adjective> than
que
as <adjective> as aussi <adjectif> que
For example
Mon frère est plus grand que moi. - My brother is taller than I am.
Le chat a des moustaches moins courtes que le lapin. - The cat has less
short whiskers than the rabbit.
Elle semble aussi inquiète que toi. - She seems as worried as you are.
Note: The adjective has to agree in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
3) Comparative of verbs
English French
<verb> more than <verbe> plus que
<verbe> moins
<verb> less than
que
<verbe> autant
<verb> as much as
que
For example
Je pleure plus que ma copine. - I cry more than my girlfriend.
Tu parles moins que je ne le pensais. - You speak less than I thought.
Marie danse autant que Sarah. - Marie dances as much as Sarah.
4) Comparative of nouns
English French
more <thing/s> than plus de <chose/s> que
moins de <chose/s> qu
less <thing/s> than
e
as much/many autant de <chose/s> qu
<thing/s> as e
For example
J'ai plus de jouets que toi. - I have more toys than you.
Thomas a moins de courage qu'Henri. - Thomas has less courage than Henri.
Vos amis reçoivent autant de cadeaux que vous. - Your friends are getting as many
presents as you.
Irregular comparatives
Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative forms to express "more
than," though they remain regular when expressing "less than" or "as ... as."
comparative
basic form English
form
bien mieux que well -> better than
bon/ne meilleur/e que good -> better than
mauvais/e pire que bad -> worse than
Remember that bon and meilleur are adjectives, and so need to agree with the
nouns they modify.
Note that in English, we say "better than" for both the adverb "well" and the adjective
"good," whereas French has two distinct forms:
1. bien --> mieux que
2. bon --> meilleur/e que
To express "worse than" in French, you can use either the regular plus mauvais/e
que or the irregular pire que.
For example
Aurélie est meilleure en maths que Julien. - Aurélie is better at maths than Julien.
Il chante mieux que moi. - He sings better than me.
Elle chante moins bien que moi. - She sings less well than I do.
Lucie est aussi bonne en maths que Julien. - Lucie is as good at maths as Julien.
Ce restaurant est plus mauvais que / pire que l'autre. - This restaurant is worse than
the other.
