French Comparative and Superlative: Plus, Moins, Aussi... Que

Getting Started — Comparing Two Things

After Object Pronouns, it’s time to learn how to compare two things — “this is bigger”, “this is smaller”, “both are equal”, or “this is the best”. In English we add suffixes like ‘bigger’/‘biggest’, but French adds no suffix at all — it just uses the words ‘plus/moins/aussi’ with the adjective.

From Punjabi: Punjabi needs no “more” word: ਪੈਰਿਸ ਲਿਓਂ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ ਹੈ is just “Paris Lyon-from big”. The ਤੋਂ does the comparing. French has no such ending, so it needs a word before the adjective: Paris est plus grand que Lyon. Drop the plus, as Punjabi does, and you get ❌ Elle est grande que moi. And ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ (bigger than everything) is simply le plus grand. For quantity, ਮੇਰੇ ਕੋਲ ਤੇਰੇ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਕੰਮ ਹੈ is j’ai plus de travail que toi.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• compare with plus, moins, aussi … que, and with plus de, autant de before a noun;
• say le plus, le moins and put the article in the right place (la ville la plus chère);
• choose between meilleur and mieux, and say moins bon, aussi bon;
• compare two cities or two prices out loud.

1 Comparative — Comparing Two Things

Structure: plus/moins/aussi + adjective + que

Note! Adjective agreement: The adjective still has to agree with the noun’s gender/number in a comparison, exactly like Adjective Agreement:

• “Il est plus grand.” (masc.) → “Elle est plus grande.” (fem.)
• “Ils sont plus grands.” (masc. pl.) → “Elles sont plus grandes.” (fem. pl.)

2 Superlative — The Most / The Least

Structure: le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective

Note! The article is required: The superlative always needs the article ‘le/la/les’, and it agrees with the noun’s gender/number — this is what tells a superlative apart from a comparative.

• “Paris est plus grand que Lyon.” (comparative — comparing two cities)
• “Paris est la plus grande ville de France.” (superlative — the biggest across all of France)

3 Irregular Forms: BON, BIEN, MAUVAIS

Three common words don’t follow the regular comparative/superlative pattern:

• “Ce restaurant est meilleur que l’autre.” → This restaurant is better than the other. (adjective describing ‘restaurant’)
• “Elle chante mieux que moi.” → She sings better than me. (adverb describing ‘chante’)
• “C’est le meilleur jour de ma vie!” → It’s the best day of my life! (superlative)

Test for ‘bon’ vs. ‘bien’: If a noun is being described (a person, a thing), use ‘meilleur’ (the comparative of bon); if a verb is being described (an action), use ‘mieux’ (the comparative of bien).

4 Comparing Quantities and Actions

Plus que works on adjectives. For nouns and verbs French uses different patterns:

• J’ai plus de travail que toi. (I have more work than you.)
• Il y a autant de neige que l’an dernier. (There is as much snow as last year.)
• Elle travaille autant que son frère. (She works as much as her brother.)
• Tu dors moins que moi. (You sleep less than me.)

Aussi is only for adjectives and adverbs. With a noun or a verb it becomes autant: ❌ aussi de travail, ❌ je travaille aussi que toi.

The same de appears in the superlative of quantity: le plus de amis, le moins de temps (C’est moi qui ai le plus d’amis.). The noun after it never changes.

5 Where the Simple Rules Break

1. The article moves with the adjective. If the adjective goes before the noun (grand, petit, beau, bon, jeune), the superlative does too: le plus grand bâtiment, la plus belle ville. If the adjective goes after the noun (cher, intéressant, difficile), the article is repeated: la ville la plus chère, le film le plus intéressant.

2. After a superlative, “in” is de. La plus grande ville du Canada, le plus jeune de la classe, la plus belle ville du monde. Never ❌ dans le monde.

3. Meilleur or mieux? Meilleur describes a noun (ce gâteau est meilleur). Mieux describes an action or a state (elle chante mieux, je me sens mieux). Only plus uses these forms. With moins and aussi, bon stays: moins bon, aussi bon (❌ moins meilleur).

4. Mauvais has two comparatives. Pire is the strong one (c’est encore pire !); plus mauvais is fine for plain quality (un plus mauvais résultat). Everyday speech often avoids both with moins bon.

Real Examples

1. Comparing Cities and Places

• “Montréal est plus grand que Québec.” → Montreal is bigger than Quebec City.
• “L’hiver ici est aussi froid qu’au Punjab? Non, il est beaucoup plus froid.” → Is winter here as cold as in Punjab? No, it’s much colder.

2. Shopping

• “Ce manteau est moins cher que celui-là.” → This coat is less expensive than that one.
• “C’est le moins cher du magasin.” → It’s the cheapest in the store.

3. Everyday Conversation

• “Mon frère est plus jeune que moi.” → My brother is younger than me.
• “C’est la meilleure décision que j’ai prise.” → It’s the best decision I’ve made.
• “Je parle mieux français qu’avant.” → I speak French better than before.

Common Mistakes and Fixes

Practice

A. Comparing adjectives. Write the missing word

B. Quantities and actions. Write the missing word

C. The superlative. Write the missing word(s)

Your Turn: Two Cities

A TEF/TCF-style speaking situation: Comparez deux villes que vous connaissez, par exemple une ville du Punjab et une ville canadienne. Speak for about a minute. Use plus … que, moins … que, autant de, meilleur or mieux, and one superlative.

Model answer: Ma ville au Punjab est moins grande que Toronto, mais il y a plus de monde dans la rue. L’hiver ici est beaucoup plus froid, et la vie est moins bruyante. Je dors mieux ici, mais j’ai moins d’amis. Pour moi, la ville la plus agréable, c’est celle où j’ai le plus d’amis.

Moving Forward

Today’s takeaway: You can now compare two things and say what’s the most/least — very useful for comparing cities, prices, and people. Next, we’ll learn Adjective Placement (the BAGS rule — which adjectives come before the noun).

Your challenge: Every day, build 5 comparisons — about your family, cities, or shopping. Use ‘plus/moins/aussi’ in turn.