Class Notes: French Comparatives

Lesson Objective

• To learn how to use comparatives in French for basic conversation.

What Are Comparatives?

• Comparatives are used to compare two nouns.
• In English: Usually uses “-er” or “more/less … than”, e.g. “taller than”, “slower than”.
• Another comparative form in English is “as … as”, e.g. “as tall as”.

Key Comparative Phrases in French

1. “More … than”

• French: plus [adjective] que
• Example:
  • nous sommes plus grands qu’elle (We are taller than her)

2. “Less … than”

• French: moins [adjective] que
• Example:
  • Ils courent moins vite que moi (They run less fast than me)

3. “As … as”

• French: aussi [adjective] que
• Example:
  • Jean est aussi grand que moi (Jean is as tall as me)

Notes on Usage

• When “que” is followed by a vowel or mute ‘h’, use “qu’ ” and elide (remove the ‘e’).
• For comparison with “me”, use “moi” instead of “je”.

Rule Breakers (Irregular Comparatives)

Some adjectives use irregular forms instead of the standard structure.

• bon (good) → meilleur (better)
• mauvais (bad) → pire (worse)
• petit (small/little) → moindre (lesser)
• Others use “-le” instead of “que”:
  • inférieur (lower/less) → inférieur à
  • supérieur (higher/more) → supérieur à
  • meilleur (better) → meilleur à
  • pire (worse) → pire à

Examples

| English | French | |--|-| | We are taller than her | Nous sommes plus grands qu’elle | | They run slower than him | Ils courent plus lentement que lui | | | Ils courent moins vite que lui | | Jean is as tall as me | Jean est aussi grand que moi | | This book is better | Ce livre est meilleur | | This cake is worse | Ce gâteau est pire |

Key Vocabulary

• plus = more
• moins = less
• aussi = as
• que = than/as (for comparisons)
• bon = good
• meilleur = better
• mauvais = bad
• pire = worse
• petit = small/little
• moindre = lesser/less

Tips

• Watch out for irregular comparatives, especially with common adjectives like good and bad.
• Use “moi”, “toi”, “lui”, “elle”, etc. after “que” for clarity.
• Practice creating sentences using all three forms: plus, moins, aussi.

Additional Reminders

• Join the Language Tutor French Facebook page for ideas and future lesson requests.
• Listen to the Language Tutor French Podcast for extra practice.
• Subscribe and turn on notifications to keep up with new lessons.

If you have questions, leave them in the comment section of the video!