{"id":14,"date":"2008-10-06T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2008-10-06T19:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=14"},"modified":"2008-10-06T15:26:40","modified_gmt":"2008-10-06T19:26:40","slug":"are-french-cars-better-than-italian-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/are-french-cars-better-than-italian-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Are French Cars Better Than Italian Cars?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00ab\u00a0La puissance est plus impressionnante<\/strong> lorsqu’elle est g\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9e par une simple goutte.\u00a0\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n

This comes from an Audi ad that was blinking at me this afternoon while I was reading Le Monde online.\u00a0 It didn’t inspire me to go out and buy a car, but it did bring me to write this article on comparatives<\/strong> in French.<\/p>\n

We can break the comparison of superiority above grammatically like this: subject + verb + plus + adjective<\/p>\n

Below are some structures you may use to express comparisons of superiority, equality and inferiority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Plus
\nAussi\u00a0 + <\/em>adjective\/adverb<\/em> + que
\nMoins\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Plus de
\nAutant de\u00a0 + <\/em> noun<\/em> + que
\nMoins de\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 plus
\nVerbe + \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 autant +\u00a0 que
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0moins<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Comparisons of Superiority<\/span><\/p>\n

Mon mari est plus \u00e2g\u00e9 que<\/span> moi.<\/em> (My husband is older than I.)
\nMa m\u00e8re conduit plus rapide que <\/span>moi.<\/em> \u00a0(My mother drives faster than I.)
\nEn France, il y a plus de vins qu’<\/span>aux Etats-Unis. <\/em>(In France, there are more wines than in the United States.)
\nElle parle plus que <\/span>lui.<\/em> \u00a0(She talks more than he.)<\/p>\n

Comparisons of Inferiority<\/span>
\n<\/span>Il a fait moins beau que<\/span> hier. <\/em>(It was not as nice as yesterday.)
\nJ’apprends moins vite que <\/span>ma soeur.<\/em>\u00a0 (I learn slower than my sister.)
\nIls ont moins d’argent que<\/span> les Sarkozy.<\/em>\u00a0 (They have less money than the Sarkozy’s.)
\nVous mangez moins que<\/span> nous.<\/em>\u00a0 (You eat less than we do.)<\/p>\n

Comparisons of Equality<\/span><\/p>\n

Ses yeux sont aussi beaux que<\/span> les miens. <\/em>\u00a0(Her eyes are as beautiful as mine.)
\nNous parlons aussi bien<\/span> le fran\u00e7ais que <\/span>vous.<\/em>\u00a0 (We speak French just as good as you.)
\nTu as autant d’enfants que<\/span> moi.<\/em>\u00a0 (You have as many children as I.)
\nMes parents travaillent autant que<\/span> les v\u00f4tres. <\/em>\u00a0(My parents work as much as yours.)<\/p>\n

You can also use comme<\/em> to express a comparison of equality.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n

Je cuisine comme un vrai chef<\/em>.\u00a0 (I cook like a real chef.)<\/p>\n

Be careful! There are some irregular constructions too such as<\/p>\n

bon \u2192\u00a0meilleur
\nbien \u2192\u00a0mieux<\/p>\n

…and although you can use plus petit<\/em> to indicate size or measurement, you use moindre<\/em> when talking about value or importance.<\/p>\n

…and plus mauvais<\/em> is grammatically correct, but you often hear pire <\/em>as it is a way to insist upon the \u2018badness’.<\/p>\n

There are other more complicated variations and rules, but that is pretty much it for the basics of comparing in French.<\/p>\n

Finally, click here<\/a> to go to the Audi France website if any of you want to buy that car in the ad!
\nMais moi, j’aime plus ma petite voiture!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00ab\u00a0La puissance est plus impressionnante lorsqu’elle est g\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9e par une simple goutte.\u00a0\u00bb This comes from an Audi ad that was blinking at me this afternoon while I was reading Le Monde online.\u00a0 It didn’t inspire me to go out and buy a car, but it did bring me to write this article on comparatives in…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[228,346],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-comparatives","tag-french-grammar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t