« La puissance est plus impressionnante lorsqu’elle est générée par une simple goutte. »

This comes from an Audi ad that was blinking at me this afternoon while I was reading Le Monde online.  It didn’t inspire me to go out and buy a car, but it did bring me to write this article on comparatives in French.

We can break the comparison of superiority above grammatically like this: subject + verb + plus + adjective

Below are some structures you may use to express comparisons of superiority, equality and inferiority.

Plus
Aussi  + adjective/adverb + que
Moins 

Plus de
Autant de  + noun + que
Moins de 

                        plus
Verbe +          autant +  que
                        moins

Here are some examples:

Comparisons of Superiority

Mon mari est plus âgé que moi. (My husband is older than I.)
Ma mère conduit plus rapide que moi.  (My mother drives faster than I.)
En France, il y a plus de vins qu’aux Etats-Unis. (In France, there are more wines than in the United States.)
Elle parle plus que lui.  (She talks more than he.)

Comparisons of Inferiority
Il a fait moins beau que hier. (It was not as nice as yesterday.)
J’apprends moins vite que ma soeur.  (I learn slower than my sister.)
Ils ont moins d’argent que les Sarkozy.  (They have less money than the Sarkozy’s.)
Vous mangez moins que nous.  (You eat less than we do.)

Comparisons of Equality

Ses yeux sont aussi beaux que les miens.  (Her eyes are as beautiful as mine.)
Nous parlons aussi bien le français que vous.  (We speak French just as good as you.)
Tu as autant d’enfants que moi.  (You have as many children as I.)
Mes parents travaillent autant que les vôtres.  (My parents work as much as yours.)

You can also use comme to express a comparison of equality.  For example:

Je cuisine comme un vrai chef.  (I cook like a real chef.)

Be careful! There are some irregular constructions too such as

bon → meilleur
bien → mieux

…and although you can use plus petit to indicate size or measurement, you use moindre when talking about value or importance.

…and plus mauvais is grammatically correct, but you often hear pire as it is a way to insist upon the ‘badness’.

There are other more complicated variations and rules, but that is pretty much it for the basics of comparing in French.

Finally, click here to go to the Audi France website if any of you want to buy that car in the ad!
Mais moi, j’aime plus ma petite voiture!