12.4. Le comparatif et le superlatif des adverbes et des noms

The Comparative and Superlative of Adverbs and Nouns

12.4.1. The Main Idea

You already learned how to compare adjectives.

Cette ville est plus grande que ce village.	This city is bigger than this village.
Ce quartier est moins bruyant que le centre-ville.	This neighbourhood is less noisy than downtown.
Cette maison est aussi confortable que cet appartement.	This house is as comfortable as this apartment.

Now you can also compare adverbs and nouns.

Il marche plus vite que moi.	He walks faster than me.
Elle parle moins lentement que lui.	She speaks less slowly than him.
Il y a plus de restaurants que de parcs.	There are more restaurants than parks.
Il y a moins de circulation ici.	There is less traffic here.

12.4.2. Review: Comparative of Adjectives

With adjectives, use:

plus + adjective + que	more ___ than
moins + adjective + que	less ___ than
aussi + adjective + que	as ___ as

Examples:

La ville est plus animée que la campagne.	The city is livelier than the countryside.
La campagne est moins bruyante que la ville.	The countryside is less noisy than the city.
Ce quartier est aussi calme que mon ancien quartier.	This neighbourhood is as calm as my old neighbourhood.

The adjective agrees with the noun: bruyant / bruyante, grand / grande, calmes / calmes.

12.4.3. Comparative of Adverbs

With adverbs, use:

plus + adverb + que	more ___ than
moins + adverb + que	less ___ than
aussi + adverb + que	as ___ as

Examples:

Il marche plus vite que moi.	He walks faster than me.
Elle parle moins lentement que lui.	She speaks less slowly than him.
Tu comprends aussi bien que moi.	You understand as well as me.
Nous travaillons plus sérieusement qu’avant.	We work more seriously than before.

Unlike adjectives, adverbs do not agree with gender or number.

12.4.4. Comparative of Nouns

With nouns, use de after plus, moins, and autant.

plus de + noun + que	more ___ than
moins de + noun + que	fewer / less ___ than
autant de + noun + que	as many / as much ___ as

Examples:

Il y a plus de restaurants que de parcs.	There are more restaurants than parks.
Il y a moins de circulation ici que downtown.	There is less traffic here than downtown.
J’ai autant de temps que toi.	I have as much time as you.
Elle reçoit plus de messages que moi.	She receives more messages than me.

For nouns, use autant de, not aussi de.

aussi calme que	as calm as, adjective
aussi vite que	as quickly as, adverb
autant de temps que	as much time as, noun

12.4.5. Superlative of Adverbs

With adverbs, use le plus or le moins.

le plus + adverb	the most ___
le moins + adverb	the least ___

Examples:

Il marche le plus vite.	He walks the fastest.
Elle parle le plus clairement.	She speaks the most clearly.
C’est lui qui travaille le moins sérieusement.	He is the one who works the least seriously.
C’est ici que je dors le mieux.	It is here that I sleep best.

For adverbs, le usually stays le, because the adverb itself has no gender.

12.4.6. Superlative of Nouns

With nouns, use:

le plus de + noun	the most ___
le moins de + noun	the least / fewest ___

Examples:

C’est le quartier avec le plus de restaurants.	It is the neighbourhood with the most restaurants.
C’est la ville avec le moins de circulation.	It is the city with the least traffic.
C’est lui qui a le plus de temps.	He is the one who has the most time.
C’est elle qui reçoit le moins de messages.	She is the one who receives the fewest messages.

12.4.7. Important Irregular Forms

Some forms are irregular and very common.

bien	well
mieux que	better than
le mieux	the best

Examples:

Je parle mieux maintenant.	I speak better now.
Tu comprends mieux que moi.	You understand better than me.
Elle chante le mieux.	She sings the best.

Compare this with adjectives:

bon / bonne	good, adjective
meilleur / meilleure	better / best, adjective
bien	well, adverb
mieux	better / best, adverb

Examples:

Ce restaurant est meilleur que l’autre.	This restaurant is better than the other one.
Il cuisine mieux que moi.	He cooks better than me.

12.4.8. Plus Bon? Plus Bien?

For good and well, use the special forms.

Ce café est meilleur.	This coffee is better.
Je comprends mieux.	I understand better.

Avoid:

plus bon	better, usually avoid
plus bien	better, incorrect in standard French

12.4.9. City-Life Examples

Le bus va plus lentement que le métro.	The bus goes more slowly than the metro.
Je marche aussi vite que mon ami.	I walk as fast as my friend.
Il y a plus de magasins au centre-ville.	There are more stores downtown.
Il y a moins de parcs dans ce quartier.	There are fewer parks in this neighbourhood.
C’est le quartier avec le plus de cafés.	It is the neighbourhood with the most cafés.
Je connais mieux cette ville maintenant.	I know this city better now.

12.4.10. Core Patterns

plus + adjective + que	more ___ than
moins + adjective + que	less ___ than
aussi + adjective + que	as ___ as
plus + adverb + que	more ___ than
moins + adverb + que	less ___ than
aussi + adverb + que	as ___ as
plus de + noun + que	more ___ than
moins de + noun + que	less / fewer ___ than
autant de + noun + que	as much / as many ___ as
le plus + adverb	the most ___
le moins + adverb	the least ___
le plus de + noun	the most ___
le moins de + noun	the least / fewest ___
mieux que	better than, adverb
le mieux	the best, adverb

12.4.11. Practice

He walks faster than me.
She speaks more clearly than before.
I understand better now.
There are more restaurants than parks.
There is less traffic here.
I have as much time as you.
This neighbourhood has the most cafés.
She sings the best.
This restaurant is better than the other one.

12.4.12. Answers

He walks faster than me.	Il marche plus vite que moi.
She speaks more clearly than before.	Elle parle plus clairement qu’avant.
I understand better now.	Je comprends mieux maintenant.
There are more restaurants than parks.	Il y a plus de restaurants que de parcs.
There is less traffic here.	Il y a moins de circulation ici.
I have as much time as you.	J’ai autant de temps que toi.
This neighbourhood has the most cafés.	Ce quartier a le plus de cafés.
She sings the best.	Elle chante le mieux.
This restaurant is better than the other one.	Ce restaurant est meilleur que l’autre.

12.4.13. Short Dialogue

A : Tu préfères ce quartier ou le centre-ville ?	A: Do you prefer this neighbourhood or downtown?
B : Je préfère ce quartier. Il y a moins de circulation et je dors mieux ici.	B: I prefer this neighbourhood. There is less traffic, and I sleep better here.
A : Mais il y a plus de restaurants au centre-ville.	A: But there are more restaurants downtown.
B : C’est vrai, mais ce quartier est plus calme.	B: That’s true, but this neighbourhood is calmer.

12.4.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to compare adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. You should be able to use plus… que, moins… que, and aussi… que for adjectives and adverbs, plus de, moins de, and autant de for nouns, and superlative forms such as le plus, le moins, le plus de, and le moins de.