Comparatives are used to compare two people, two objects or two situations. They vary according to their use in the sentence. They are used with nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs. In this lesson, we will show you how to use comparatives with nouns and verbs.
1. Comparisons between subjects
J’ai plus d’argent que toi.
I have more money than you do.
Elle a eu moins de chance que moi.
She was not as lucky as I was.
La bibliothèque de son école a moins de livres que la nôtre.
His school library has less books than ours.
2. Comparisons between two verb complements
Maurice a plus de garçons que de filles dans sa classe.
Maurice has more boys than girls in his classroom.
Le tremblement de terre a fait plus de peur que de mal.
The earthquake caused more fright than real harm.
3. Comparison of nouns over a period of time
On dirait que tu as plus de boutons qu’hier.
It looks like you have more pimples than yesterday.
Je fais plus de sport qu’avant.
I work out more than I did before.
Remember: Sometimes “que” is implied.
For example:
Est-ce que tu veux plus d’eau (plus que ce que tu as déjà pris ou plus que ce que je t’ai déjà donné) ?
Do you want more water? (more than what you already had or more than I already gave you)
J’ai besoin de plus de temps pour pouvoir terminer mon projet. (plus de temps que prévu)
I need more time to be able to finish my project.(more time than planned)
For example:
J’ai autant de mal que toi à accepter la réalité.
Like you, I find it hard to accept reality.
Nous avons autant d’enfants qu’eux.
We have as many kids as they do.
For example:
Je travaille plus que mon collègue. Pourtant il est mieux payé que moi.
I work harder than my colleague. Yet, he is better paid than I am.
Elle mange plus que moi mais elle ne grossit pas.
She eats more than I do, but she doesn’t get fat.
En général, les garçons étudient moins que les filles.
Boys in general study less than girls.
Parfois j’ai l’impression que ma mère m’aime moins que mes soeurs.
Sometimes it seems to me that my mother loves me less than she loves my sisters.
For example:
Son mari ment autant qu’elle. Il ne faut jamais les croire.
Her husband lies as much as she does. Don’t ever believe them.
Il neige ici autant qu’au Canada.
It snows here as much as in Canada.
Je crois qu’il l’aime autant qu’elle le déteste.
I think that he loves her as much as she hates him.
J’ai nagé autant que toi. Pourtant je ne suis pas aussi fatigué que toi.
I swam as much as you did; yet, I am not as tired as you.
For example:
De plus en plus d’animaux sont menacés par la déforestation.
More and more animals are in danger because of deforestation.
Je me rends compte de plus en plus qu’il ne mérite pas mon amour.
I realize more and more that he is not worthy of my love.
Depuis que j’ai déménagé, j’ai de moins en moins envie de travailler.
Since I moved, I have less and less desire to work.
Je ne regarde plus cette série. Je la trouve de moins en moins intéressante.
I no longer watch this series. I find it less and less interesting.
Comparatives with nouns
A. Comparatives of superiority and inferiority
When we want to express superiority with nouns we use “plus de +noun+ que”. When we want to express inferiority with nouns we use “moins de + noun + que”. There are many types of comparison with nouns:1. Comparisons between subjects
J’ai plus d’argent que toi.
I have more money than you do.
Elle a eu moins de chance que moi.
She was not as lucky as I was.
La bibliothèque de son école a moins de livres que la nôtre.
His school library has less books than ours.
2. Comparisons between two verb complements
Maurice a plus de garçons que de filles dans sa classe.
Maurice has more boys than girls in his classroom.
Le tremblement de terre a fait plus de peur que de mal.
The earthquake caused more fright than real harm.
3. Comparison of nouns over a period of time
On dirait que tu as plus de boutons qu’hier.
It looks like you have more pimples than yesterday.
Je fais plus de sport qu’avant.
I work out more than I did before.
Remember: Sometimes “que” is implied.
For example:
Est-ce que tu veux plus d’eau (plus que ce que tu as déjà pris ou plus que ce que je t’ai déjà donné) ?
Do you want more water? (more than what you already had or more than I already gave you)
J’ai besoin de plus de temps pour pouvoir terminer mon projet. (plus de temps que prévu)
I need more time to be able to finish my project.(more time than planned)
B. Comparatives of equality
To express equality with nouns we use “autant + noun + de”.For example:
J’ai autant de mal que toi à accepter la réalité.
Like you, I find it hard to accept reality.
Nous avons autant d’enfants qu’eux.
We have as many kids as they do.
Comparatives with verbs
A. Comparatives of superiority and inferiority
To express superiority with verbs we use “verb + plus + que”. To express inferiority with verbs we use “verb +moins+ que”.For example:
Je travaille plus que mon collègue. Pourtant il est mieux payé que moi.
I work harder than my colleague. Yet, he is better paid than I am.
Elle mange plus que moi mais elle ne grossit pas.
She eats more than I do, but she doesn’t get fat.
En général, les garçons étudient moins que les filles.
Boys in general study less than girls.
Parfois j’ai l’impression que ma mère m’aime moins que mes soeurs.
Sometimes it seems to me that my mother loves me less than she loves my sisters.
B. Comparatives of equality
To express equality with verbs we use: “verb + autant + que”.For example:
Son mari ment autant qu’elle. Il ne faut jamais les croire.
Her husband lies as much as she does. Don’t ever believe them.
Il neige ici autant qu’au Canada.
It snows here as much as in Canada.
Je crois qu’il l’aime autant qu’elle le déteste.
I think that he loves her as much as she hates him.
J’ai nagé autant que toi. Pourtant je ne suis pas aussi fatigué que toi.
I swam as much as you did; yet, I am not as tired as you.
Plus en plus and moins en moins
“Plus en plus” means “more and more” and “moins en moins” means “less and less”. It is used with verbs, nouns, adverbs and adjectives.For example:
De plus en plus d’animaux sont menacés par la déforestation.
More and more animals are in danger because of deforestation.
Je me rends compte de plus en plus qu’il ne mérite pas mon amour.
I realize more and more that he is not worthy of my love.
Depuis que j’ai déménagé, j’ai de moins en moins envie de travailler.
Since I moved, I have less and less desire to work.
Je ne regarde plus cette série. Je la trouve de moins en moins intéressante.
I no longer watch this series. I find it less and less interesting.