Key points about comparatives and superlatives in French
To compare two nouns in French, use plus 鈥 que (more 鈥 than), moins 鈥 que (less 鈥 than) or aussi 鈥 que (as 鈥 as).
adjectivesA word used to describe a noun. in ComparativeWhere two nouns are being compared to each other eg聽better, taller, older. sentences must agree with the first nounThe name of a thing such as an object, a place or a person. Nouns are often described as naming words. that is being compared.
To say 鈥榖etter than鈥, use meilleur que, and to say 鈥榳orse than鈥, use pire que.
Higher Tier - Superlatives are used to say that something is 'the most' or 'least' (+ adjective).
Higher Tier - Superlatives in French are le plus (the most) and le moins (the least) followed by an adjective, or le meilleur (the best) and le pire (the worst).
Comparing nouns
To compare two nouns, use the comparatives plus 鈥 que (more 鈥 than), moins 鈥 que (less 鈥 than) or aussi 鈥 que (as 鈥 as), like in the image below.
For example:
Mon chat est plus grand que ton chien. 鈥 My cat is bigger than your dog.
Le v茅lo est moins rapide que la voiture. 鈥 The bike is less fast than the car.
Les maisons sont aussi belles que les appartements. 鈥 The houses are as beautiful as the apartments.
Remember
Adjectives need to agree with the first noun that is being compared. For example:
Ma s艙ur est plus intelligente que moi. 鈥 My sister is more intelligent than me.
厂舱耻谤 (sister) is feminine and singular, so intelligente needs an e at the end.
Irregular comparatives
鈥楤etter鈥 and 鈥榳orse鈥 are irregular comparatives:
bon (good) 鈫 meilleur (better)
mauvais (bad) 鈫 pire (worse)
For example:
Mes notes sont meilleures que l鈥檃nn茅e derni猫re. 鈥 My grades are better than last year.
Le temps 茅tait pire qu鈥檈n Alg茅rie. 鈥 The weather was worse than in Algeria.
Using comparatives - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into French:
Books are as interesting as TV.
Les livres sont aussi 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟s que la t茅l茅.
Aussi 鈥 que means 鈥榓s 鈥 as鈥 and 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟 needs to agree with the noun it describes, les livres (masculine plural).
Translate this sentence into French:
Vegetables are better for your health than hamburgers.
Les l茅gumes sont meilleurs pour la sant茅 que les hamburgers.
Meilleur means 鈥榖etter鈥. 尝茅驳耻尘别蝉 is a masculine plural noun, so meilleurs must end in s.
Quiz - Comparing nouns in French
Practise what you've learned about comparing nouns in French with this quiz.
Higher Tier - Superlatives
Use superlatives to say something is 'the most 鈥' or 'the least 鈥' eg interesting, the biggest/smallest or the best/worst.
Use the definite article, (le/la/les) then plus or moins.
The adjective must still agree with the noun.
For example, the superlatives of 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟 are:
Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural |
---|---|---|---|
le plus 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟 | la plus 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟e | les plus 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟s | les plus 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟es |
le moins 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟 | la moins 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟e | les moins 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟s | les moins 颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟es |
Irregular superlatives
鈥楤est鈥 and 鈥榳orst鈥 are irregular superlatives in French.
Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine plural | |
---|---|---|---|---|
best | le meilleur | la meilleure | les meilleurs | les meilleures |
worst | le pire | la pire | les pires | les pires |
For example:
Elle est la meilleure joueuse de foot dans notre coll猫ge. 鈥 She鈥檚 the best football player in our school.
C鈥櫭﹖ait le pire moment de l鈥檃nn茅e. 鈥 It was the worst time of the year.
Ce sont les meilleures amies au monde. 鈥 They are the best friends (female) in the world.
Using superlatives - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into English:
Il est le gar莽on le plus intelligent de la classe.
He is the most intelligent boy in the class.
Le plus intelligent means 鈥榯he most intelligent鈥.
Translate this sentence into English:
C鈥檈st la meilleure ville au monde.
It鈥檚 the best town in the world.
La meilleure ville means 鈥榯he best town鈥.
Higher Tier - Quiz - Using superlatives in French
Practise what you've learned about using superlatives in French with this quiz for Higher Tier.
Now you鈥檝e learned about comparatives and superlatives, why not explore indefinite and negative adjectives in French?
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