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Making comparisons with adjectives and adverbs

In these sentences, you do not need the 'que' after, depending on what you wish to say.
You can use adverbs like the adjectives in the following table:

French	Meaning	Examples
plus + adjective + que	more ... than	Elle est plus jeune = she is younger Elle est plus jeune que moi = she is younger than me
plus de + noun + que plus de + quantitiy + que	more ... than	Vous avez plus de connaissance que moi = you have more knowledge than me Je pense qu'il a plus de trente ans = I think that he's over thirty
		Note: il n'a plus d'argent = he hasn't got any more money il n'y a plus que miettes = there are only crumbs left (in the sense of "there is not anything more than crumbs") j'aime le tennis plus que tout au monde = I like tennis more than anything else in the world
moins + adjective + que	less ... than
moins de + noun + que moins de + quantity + que	less ... than
aussi + adjective + que	as ... as	Mon fils était aussi content que ma fille = My son was as happy as my daughter
autant de + noun + que	as ... as	il a autant de force que son frère = he has as much strength as his brother
pas aussi ... que pas si ... que (used mainly in a negative sentence)	not as ... as	Mon fils n'était pas (aus)si content que ma fille = My son was not as happy as my daughter
si / tellement ... que	so ... that	This use of 'si' in this instance is the same use as translating 'so' e.g. c'est si grand = it's so big
assez + adjective + pour assez de + noun	enough ... to	C'est assez grand pour boucher le trou = It's big enough to block the hole
trop + adjective + pour	too ... to too ... for	C'est trop grand pour boucher le trou = It's too big to block the hole Ce pantalon est trop grand pour moi = these trousers are too big for me
de plus en plus	more and more	Il a de plus en plus d'argent = he has more and more money
de moins en moins	less and less

By ...
Use 'de' in comparisons or with a superlative to express 'by':
Il est de beaucoup le plus intelligent = He is by far the most intelligent

Superlative

To form the most ... or the least ... is quite easy for most words. You put le / la / les plus for the most ... and le / la / les moins ... for the least ...
Le jeu le plus difficile = the most difficult game
C'est le sport le plus difficile
Les patins les moins chers = the least expensive skates

Possession
With my, your, his etc, there are two ways to say something like this:

Mon désir le plus cher est d'aller à New York en avion
Mon plus cher désir est de à New York en avion

} My dearest wish is to fly to New York

-notice that you do not use le or la either when plus / moins is in front of the object:
ma plus légère veste = my lightest jacket

Superlative + de
When you use 'de' after a superlative, it often means 'in'
Le meilleur magasin de Paris = the best shop in Paris
Le meilleur magasin du monde = the best shop in the world

Superlative + subjunctive
If a clause (a smaller sentence in a larger one) follows a superlative, use the subjunctive:
Vous êtes la personne la plus intelligente que je connaisse = you are the cleverest person I know

Irregular forms - you can use 'la' and change the word to feminine, like any other adjective

Adjective	comparing	the best / worst
bon (good)	meilleur (better)	le meilleur (best) - la meilleure qualité = the best quality
mauvais (bad)	plus mauvais	le plus mauvais (the worst)
mauvais (bad)	pire	le pire (these pire words aren't common but they are used in certain phrases)
petit (physically small)	plus petit	le plus petit
petit (less importance)	moindre	le moindre (the least)

Do not get meilleur mixed up with mieux. If the word describes a thing or person, use meilleur, otherwise use mieux (mieux describes verbs).
Mieux can be used as an adverb. This is why mieux is used with aimer mieux = to prefer BUT it can also be an adjective.
It is confusing though when you see something like "mon ami est mieux sans moustache = my friend looks better without a moustache" but if you think about it, 'bien' can be used as an adjective or adverb. It may help you to think of whether you would use 'bon' or 'bien', then decide between 'meilleur' or 'mieux'.

Adverbs

These comparisons are used in a similar way to adjectives:
Je peux skier plus vite = I can ski more quickly

Irregular forms

Adverb	comparing	the best / worst
beaucoup (much)	plus	le plus (the most)
bien (well)	mieux	le mieux (the best)
mal	pis / plus mal	le pis / plus mal (the worst)
peu (little)	moins	le moins (the least)

Les patins les mieux faits = the best made skates
Il va le faire le mieux qu'il peut = He is going to do it as best he can

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[FRANÇAIS]

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