Le vent en poupe - Cours de français intermédiaire pour étudiants anglophones
Chapitre quinze
Le corps humain et la santé
Vocabulaire - Conversation - Dossier - Activité écrite
Grammaire : Les comparaisons
Comparisons
involving adjectives |
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Comparative constructions are formed with plus, moins or aussi:
Examples:
Note that when two comparatives are joined together in the absence of a que clause, plus, moins and aussi are best repeated to avoid ambiguity. Compare:
How are superlative constructions formed? The precise nature of the superlative construction depends on the position of the adjective and on the gender and number of the preceding or the following noun. There is a separate construction for adjectives used on their own. Construction 1 - Adjectives placed before the noun
Construction 2 - Adjectives placed after the noun
Construction 3 - Adjectives used on their own
Examples of construction 1:
Examples of construction 2:
Examples of construction 3:
When two superlatives are joined together, le plus and le moins (and their feminine and plural forms) are best repeated.
After a superlative, prepositions such as in and on are translated as de:
What are the comparative and superlative forms of bon and mauvais? The adjectives bon (good) and mauvais (bad) have irregular forms corresponding to the comparatives better and worse and the superlatives the best and the worst. All other forms (e.g. less good = moins bon, as bad as = aussi mauvais que) are regular. Mauvais also has regular forms (plus mauvais(e)(s), le/la/les plus mauvais(e)(s)), but the irregular forms tend to be used whenever the intended meaning is that of 'morally bad' or 'serious'.
To say much better and much worse, French uses the adverb bien, inserted between brackets in the examples below:
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How are comparative constructions formed? Comparative constructions are formed with plus, moins or aussi :
Examples:
Note that, as with adjectives, when two comparatives are joined together in the absence of a que clause, plus, moins and aussi are best repeated to avoid ambiguity. Compare:
How are superlative constructions formed? Superlative constructions are formed with le plus or le moins. Because adverbs do not agree, there are no feminine and plural forms:
Examples:
Once again, as was the case with adjectives, when two superlatives are joined together, le plus and le moins are best repeated.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of bien and mal? The adverbs bien (well) and mal (badly) have irregular forms corresponding to the comparatives better and worse and to the superlatives the best and the worst. All other forms (e.g. less well = moins bien, as badly as = aussi mal que) are regular. Mal also has regular forms (plus mal, le plus mal), but the irregular forms tend to be used whenever the intended meaning is that of 'morally bad' or 'serious'.
To say much better and much worse, French mostly uses the adverb bien, inserted between brackets in the examples below. Note that it is possible to say beaucoup mieux, but not beaucoup meilleur:
In the contemporary language, pis and le pis are also often replaced with pire and le pire, i.e. with the comparative and the superlative of the adjective mauvais.
On the other hand, bien, mieux and le mieux remain very commonly used, not only as adverbs, but also, with the verb être, as adjectives.
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How are comparative constructions formed? Comparative constructions are formed with plus, moins or autant:
Examples:
In a list of comparatives, the preposition de must be repeated. Other common elements may be left out:
How are superlative constructions formed? Superlative constructions are formed with le plus or le moins. The gender and number of the following noun have no effect on the article.
Examples:
In a list of superlatives, the preposition de must be repeated. Other common elements may be left out:
How are comparisons made against a standard? Comparisons against a standard are made with plus or moins, followed by de + a number:
Examples:
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How are comparative constructions formed? Comparative constructions are formed with plus, moins or autant. The final consonant of plus must be pronounced.
Examples:
When, as in the second set of examples, the verb phrase incorporates a noun (avoir envie), there are a number of other, probably preferred, possibilities. The easiest one is to insert the adjective grand as follows - and the final consonant of plus is not pronounced:
This construction is not available in the case of the expressions avoir chaud, avoir froid and avoir sommeil. With these, the correct construction is as follows - and the final consonant of plus is once again not pronounced.
How are superlative constructions formed? Superlative constructions are formed with le plus or le moins. The final consonant of plus must be pronounced.
Examples:
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