Comparatives (plus / moins / aussi … que)
Summary
Comparatives express more, less or equal degrees using plus, moins or aussi before an adjective or adverb, with que to introduce what is compared.
Explanation
French builds the comparative with three little words placed before the adjective or adverb: plus … que (more … than) for superiority, moins … que (less … than) for inferiority, and aussi … que (as … as) for equality. The second element of the comparison is introduced by que: Marie est plus grande que Paul, ce film est moins intéressant que l'autre, il court aussi vite que toi.
When the comparison is about an adjective, the adjective still agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes: elle est plus grande, ils sont moins fatigués. With an adverb (vite, souvent, tard) there is no agreement, because adverbs are invariable: elle parle plus lentement que moi.
To compare quantities of a noun, use plus de, moins de and autant de (not aussi de) directly before the noun: j'ai plus de temps que toi, il y a moins de monde, elle gagne autant d'argent que lui. Here de does not change for gender or number.
The key irregular form is the adjective bon (good), whose comparative of superiority is meilleur, not plus bon: ce gâteau est meilleur que l'autre. Watch the contrast with the adverb bien (well), whose comparative is mieux: elle chante mieux que moi. After que, French uses a stressed pronoun (que moi, que lui, que nous), not a subject pronoun. Rule of thumb: pick plus / moins / aussi for adjectives and adverbs, plus de / moins de / autant de for quantities, and remember the pair meilleur (better, from bon) vs mieux (better, from bien).
Examples
Marie est plus grande que Paul. — Marie is taller than Paul. (plus … que; the adjective agrees (grande).)
Ce film est moins intéressant que l'autre. — This film is less interesting than the other one. (moins … que.)
Il court aussi vite que toi. — He runs as fast as you. (aussi … que with an adverb; stressed pronoun toi after que.)
J'ai plus de temps que toi. — I have more time than you. (Quantity: plus de + noun.)
Ce gâteau est meilleur que l'autre. — This cake is better than the other one. (bon becomes meilleur, not 'plus bon'.)
Common mistakes
Elle est plus bonne en maths que moi.
Elle est meilleure en maths que moi.
bon has an irregular comparative: meilleur(e), not plus bon. Use plus + adjective only for adjectives that form their comparative regularly; bon is one of the exceptions, like English good/better.
Prerequisites
Related rules
comparativesadjectivesadverbs