Superlatives are used to compare three or more people, things, places or situations. In French there are two kinds of superlatives. Superlatives of superiority and superlatives of inferiority.
1. Superlatives of superiority with adjectives
We put the superlative “le/la/les plus” before the adjective depending on whether the noun it modifies is masculine, feminine or plural.
For example:
Anna, Charlotte et Claire sont toutes belles mais Claire est la plus belle.
Anna, Charlotte and Claire are all pretty, but Claire is the prettiest.
La Chine est le pays le plus peuplé au monde.
China is the most populated country in the world.
Toutes les questions du test étaient difficiles mais les dernières questions étaient les plus difficiles.
All the test’s questions were hard, but the last questions were the hardest.
Irregular adjectives: There are a few adjectives that don’t take the “le/la/les plus” form:
For example: La dernière blague est la meilleure. J’ai tellement ri que j’ai eu les larmes aux yeux.
The last joke was the best. I laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes.
Le pire souvenir que j’ai gardé de lui, c’était quand il m’a forcée à chanter alors que je ne voulais pas chanter.
The worst memory I kept of him was when he forced me to sing when I didn’t want to sing.
Il me criait dessus pour la moindre faute que je faisais.
He yelled at me for the smallest mistake I made.
2. Superlatives of superiority with adverbs
We put the superlative “le plus” before the adverb. The adverb is invariable.
For example:
Elles chantent toutes bien mais celle qui chante le mieux, c’est Céline.
They all sing well, but the one who sings the best is Céline.
Essaye de le remettre en place le plus lentement possible.
Try to put it back in place the slowliest possible.
3. Superlatives of superiority with verbs
We put the superlative “le plus” after the verb. “le plus” stays unchanged.
For example:
C’est elle qui travaille le plus dans cette compagnie. Pourtant personne là-bas ne la respecte.
She is the one who works the hardest in that company. Yet, nobody there respects her.
De toutes mes filles, c’est elle qui m’aime le plus.
Of all my daughters, she is the one who loves me the most.
4. Superlatives of superiority with nouns
We put the superlative “le plus de” before the noun. “le plus de” stays unchanged with feminine or plural nouns.
For example:
C’est Ali qui a le plus de bons points.
It’s Ali who has the most brownie points.
Il faut éviter les heures de pointe. C’est à ces heures-là qu’il y a le plus d’embouteillages.
Try to avoid rush hours. Traffic is worst at these hours.
1. Superlatives of inferiority with adjectives
We put the superlative of inferiority “le/la/les moins” before the adjective depending whether the noun it modifies is masculine, feminine or plural.
For example:
Le pauvre il a tout perdu. C’est vraiment le moins chanceux de tous ses frères.
The poor man has lost everything. He really is the least lucky of his brothers.
C’est la moins débrouillarde de toutes les filles que j’ai connues.
Of all the girls I met, she is the least resourceful.
Nous avons choisi de visiter les endroits les moins fréquentés au monde.
We chose to tour the least visited places in the world.
2. Superlatives of inferiority with adverbs
We put the superlative “le moins” before the adverb. The adverb is invariable.
For example:
C’est Manon qui court le moins vite. Il faut qu’elle s’entraîne un peu plus.
It’s Manon who runs the least fast. She must practice a little more.
Quel est le restaurant que tu fréquentes le moins souvent ?
Which restaurant do you visit the least often?
3. Superlatives of inferiority with verbs
We put the superlative “le moins” after the verb.
For example:
De toutes mes employées, c’est elle qui se plaint le moins.
Of all my employees, she is the one who complains the least.
Quand on sort entre filles, c’est toujours Fabienne qui parle le moins. Elle a l’air très timide.
When we have a girls night out, it’s always Fabienne who speaks the least. She seems very shy.
4. Superlatives of inferiority with nouns
We put the superlative “le moins de” before the nouns. “le moins de” stays unchanged with feminine or plural nouns.
For example:
Ce film a eu le moins de succès par rapport aux autres films sortis cette année.
This movie was the least successful compared to the other movies released this year.
On dirait que c’est moi qui ai le moins de mal à accepter la réalité.
It seems that I am the one who has the least difficult time accepting reality.
A. Superlatives of superiority
Superlatives of superiority are either adjectives or adverbs that express the highest quality among people, things, places or situations.1. Superlatives of superiority with adjectives
We put the superlative “le/la/les plus” before the adjective depending on whether the noun it modifies is masculine, feminine or plural.
For example:
Anna, Charlotte et Claire sont toutes belles mais Claire est la plus belle.
Anna, Charlotte and Claire are all pretty, but Claire is the prettiest.
La Chine est le pays le plus peuplé au monde.
China is the most populated country in the world.
Toutes les questions du test étaient difficiles mais les dernières questions étaient les plus difficiles.
All the test’s questions were hard, but the last questions were the hardest.
Irregular adjectives: There are a few adjectives that don’t take the “le/la/les plus” form:
| Adjectives | Superlatives |
| bon | le meilleur |
| mauvais | le plus mauvais/le pire |
| petit | le plus petit/le moindre |
For example: La dernière blague est la meilleure. J’ai tellement ri que j’ai eu les larmes aux yeux.
The last joke was the best. I laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes.
Le pire souvenir que j’ai gardé de lui, c’était quand il m’a forcée à chanter alors que je ne voulais pas chanter.
The worst memory I kept of him was when he forced me to sing when I didn’t want to sing.
Il me criait dessus pour la moindre faute que je faisais.
He yelled at me for the smallest mistake I made.
2. Superlatives of superiority with adverbs
We put the superlative “le plus” before the adverb. The adverb is invariable.
For example:
Elles chantent toutes bien mais celle qui chante le mieux, c’est Céline.
They all sing well, but the one who sings the best is Céline.
Essaye de le remettre en place le plus lentement possible.
Try to put it back in place the slowliest possible.
3. Superlatives of superiority with verbs
We put the superlative “le plus” after the verb. “le plus” stays unchanged.
For example:
C’est elle qui travaille le plus dans cette compagnie. Pourtant personne là-bas ne la respecte.
She is the one who works the hardest in that company. Yet, nobody there respects her.
De toutes mes filles, c’est elle qui m’aime le plus.
Of all my daughters, she is the one who loves me the most.
4. Superlatives of superiority with nouns
We put the superlative “le plus de” before the noun. “le plus de” stays unchanged with feminine or plural nouns.
For example:
C’est Ali qui a le plus de bons points.
It’s Ali who has the most brownie points.
Il faut éviter les heures de pointe. C’est à ces heures-là qu’il y a le plus d’embouteillages.
Try to avoid rush hours. Traffic is worst at these hours.
B. Superlatives of inferiority
Superlatives of inferiority are either adjectives or adverbs that express the lowest quality among people, objects, places, or situations.1. Superlatives of inferiority with adjectives
We put the superlative of inferiority “le/la/les moins” before the adjective depending whether the noun it modifies is masculine, feminine or plural.
For example:
Le pauvre il a tout perdu. C’est vraiment le moins chanceux de tous ses frères.
The poor man has lost everything. He really is the least lucky of his brothers.
C’est la moins débrouillarde de toutes les filles que j’ai connues.
Of all the girls I met, she is the least resourceful.
Nous avons choisi de visiter les endroits les moins fréquentés au monde.
We chose to tour the least visited places in the world.
2. Superlatives of inferiority with adverbs
We put the superlative “le moins” before the adverb. The adverb is invariable.
For example:
C’est Manon qui court le moins vite. Il faut qu’elle s’entraîne un peu plus.
It’s Manon who runs the least fast. She must practice a little more.
Quel est le restaurant que tu fréquentes le moins souvent ?
Which restaurant do you visit the least often?
3. Superlatives of inferiority with verbs
We put the superlative “le moins” after the verb.
For example:
De toutes mes employées, c’est elle qui se plaint le moins.
Of all my employees, she is the one who complains the least.
Quand on sort entre filles, c’est toujours Fabienne qui parle le moins. Elle a l’air très timide.
When we have a girls night out, it’s always Fabienne who speaks the least. She seems very shy.
4. Superlatives of inferiority with nouns
We put the superlative “le moins de” before the nouns. “le moins de” stays unchanged with feminine or plural nouns.
For example:
Ce film a eu le moins de succès par rapport aux autres films sortis cette année.
This movie was the least successful compared to the other movies released this year.
On dirait que c’est moi qui ai le moins de mal à accepter la réalité.
It seems that I am the one who has the least difficult time accepting reality.