La Comparaison (comparisons)
Notes
- Sometimes, you want to compare people or things, quantities, or how things are done.
- A comparison is comparing a characteristic of two individuals or groups to one another.
Ex: My dog is bigger than your dog. - In English, to compare qualities, we often use the suffix "-er" at the end of an adjective.
Ex: Nadine's house is bigger than Sarah's.
Sarah's house is smaller than Nadine's. - We can also use the words "more" or "less."
Ex: Caroline has less M&Ms than he brother. - In French, there are multiple ways to make comparisons, depending on if you are comparing the qualities of two items (with adjectives), the quantities of two items (with nouns), or how things are done (with adverbs).
- Generally, to compare nouns or verbs, you will use the following formulas:
plus... que - more.... than
moins... que- les.... than
aussi.... que- as... as
Comparisons of people or things with adjectives
- In order to compare the qualities of two people or things we will use adjectives with the phrases of comparison above.
- In order to compare things or people, you will simply state the first object you're comparing, then place the adjective in between plus/moins and que followed by whatever it is being compared to.
First thing/person + être + plus/moins/aussi + adjective + que + second thing/person
Ex: Une plante est moins grande qu'un arbre. > A plant is less big (smaller) than a tree. - In order to indicate equality, you will use the phrase aussi... que (as... as).
Ex: Mon ami est aussi riche que votre ami. > My friend is as rich as your friend. - Make sure that your adjective always agrees with the gender and number of whatever is being described (generally, the first object).
Ex: La fille est plus gentille que le garçon. > The girl is kinder than the boy. - Here are some other examples:
Une trompette est plus forte qu'une flute. > A trumpet is louder than a flute.
Les chats sont moins aimables que les chiens. > Cats are less likable than dogs.
La chimie est aussi difficile que la biologie. > Chemistry is as difficult as biology. - In English, instead of more good we use the word better, or to say less good we say worse; the same thing happens in french with bon and mauvais.
plus bon/moins mauvais = meilleur/e/s (make agreement!)
moins bon/plus mauvais = pire OR plus mauvais/e/s (either is correct) - The other two irregulars are bien and mal, which will change to mieux and pis, respectively.
plus bien/moins mal = mieux
plus mal/moins bien = pis
Comparisons of quantities (with nouns)
- In order to compare the quantities of two nouns, we will use the quantities with the comparison formulas mentioned before with the word "de" after plus/moins/aussi.
plus de... que - more of.... than
moins de... que- less of... than
autant de.... que- as much of.... as ** note that aussi is not used with nouns, instead we use "autant."** - Follow this formula:
First person/thing with the noun + verb + plus de/moins de/aussi de + noun being compared + que + second person/thing with the noun.
Ex: Aurélie a plus de livres que Marisol. - Here are some more examples:
Mégane complète moins de devoirs que Marc.
Nicolas a corrigé autant d'interros que Nadine.
Le chien a plus de nourriture que le chat.
Comparisons of how actions are done (with adverbs)
- In English, our adverbs will generally end in -ly, in French they will generally end in "-ment," but not always.
- To compare using adverbs, you will state the first thing you are comparing, the action you are comparing, then the comparative formula using an adverb, and finally the second thing being compared.
First thing/person + verb + plus/moins/aussi + adverb + que + second thing/person
Ex: Mon chien mange plus vite que mon chat. - Here are some more examples using averbs:
Je sors moins souvent que mes amis.
Un Belge parle aussi lentement qu'un Suisse.
We can sum up our comparative formulas with the following:
1st thing/person + verb + plus/moins/aussi + characteristic (de) + que + 2nd thing/person
Ma mère est aussi gentille que mon père.
Mon chien aboie (barks) moins fort que votre chien.
Les bananes ont plus de valeur nutritive que les ananas.
Superlatives
- In French we can also use superlative phrases, saying "the most" or "the least."
- When using the superlative, you can state the whole that the person/thing is being compared to, but that is optional.
- When using superlatives, use the formulas below:
- Superlative with adjectives:
le/la/les + noun + le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective (+de... the whole)
C'est le chien le moins propre (du monde).
OR person/thing + être + le/la/les what is being compared to + le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective
Elle est la fille la plus intelligente du lycée. - Remember your adjective placement and modify the formula if the adjective is supposed to go before the noun:
le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective + noun + (de....)
C'est la plus petite fille de la classe. - Meilleur/e/s and pire/s ust precedge the noun the modify and agree with the noun.
Ex: C'est la meilleure pizza de la ville! > It's the best pizza in the city. - Superlative with quantities:
les/la/les + plus de/moins de + thing being compared + (de...)
Elle donne le plus d'interros des profs.
- Superlative with adverbs:
thing/person + verb + le/la/les + plus/moins + adverb
Elle parle le plus vite!
We can sum up our superlative formulas with the following:
thing compared + verb + (le/la/les + whole) le/la + plus/moins + characteristic (+ de... whole)
Nadine est la plus intelligente de la classe./Nadine est la fille la plus intelligente.
Les pêches sont les meilleures fruits du monde.
Caroline gagne le plus d'argent des étudiants.
Activities
Directions:
Self-checking fill-in-the-blank activity
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
Self-checking comparison/superlative of adverbs
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
Self-checking comparison of adjectives
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
Self-checking superlative of adjectives
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
- Find three or four volunteers from the class to come up to the front (one for each of the characteristics).
- Give each student one of the characteristic cards.
- Give the students the prompts below and have them answer orally or on individual whiteboards. At first, the students can write names only, then you can get to them responding with full sentences.
Ex:
Jim a 10 amis, Karen a 15 amis, et Victor a 100 amis.
Qui est le plus populaire? Victor/Victor est le plus populaire.
- Les Notes:
1) Qui est le plus intelligent/e?
2) Qui est la personne la moins intelligente?
3) Qui est plus intelligent/e que _____?
4) Qui est moins intelligent/e que ____?
5) Qui est le/la meilleur/e étudiant/e? - L'argent:
1) Qui est la personne la plus riche?
2) Qui est la personne la plus pauvre?
3) Qui est plus riche que ______?
4) Qui est moins riche que______?
5) Qui a aussi d'argent que ____? - Les Amis:
1) Qui est le plus populaire?
2) Qui est le moins populaire?
3) Qui est aussi populaire que ________?
4) Qui a plus d'amis que ______?
5) Qui a moins d'amis que _______?
6) Qui a le moins d'amis?
7) Qui a autant d'amis que _____? - Les Chiens
1) Écrivez une phrase qui compare deux des personnes. (plus, moins, aussi/autant)
2) Ecrivez une phrase superlative. (le plus, le moins) - Les Soeurs
1) Écrivez une phrase qui compare deux des personnes. (plus, moins, aussi/autant)
2) Écrivez une phrase superlative. (le plus, le moins)
Self-checking fill-in-the-blank activity
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
- Following the prompt given directly before the blank, students fill in the blank with the correct comparison by clicking on the word from the word back on the right-side as they get to each blank.
Self-checking comparison/superlative of adverbs
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
- Following the prompt given (+, -, =) directly after the blank, students fill in the blank with the correct comparison or superlative.
- Students do not need to rewrite the whole sentence.
Self-checking comparison of adjectives
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
- Following the prompt given (+, -, =) directly after the blank, students fill in the blank with the correct comparison or superlative.
- Students do not need to rewrite the whole sentence.
Self-checking superlative of adjectives
Materials: activity (above), internet access.
Directions:
- Following the prompt given (+, -, =) directly after the blank, students fill in the blank with the correct comparison or superlative.
- Students do not need to rewrite the whole sentence.