Comparative and superlative degrees. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in French Degrees of comparison of adjectives in French exercises

Today we will talk about an interesting topic that can cause difficulties when learning French, namely, we will talk about degrees of comparison of French adjectives. We will be especially interested in the comparative degree of adjectives, and we will talk about the superlative degree next time. So let's get started!

As far as we know, French adjectives change in gender and number. Then the natural question would be: is it possible that they also change their form to form the comparative degree? It turns out that no! The comparative degree of comparison of French adjectives is formed according to the general rule:

la supériorité: plus+adjectif+ que: Pierre est plus âgé que Thomas.

l'égalité: aussi+adjectif+ que: Pierre est aussi âgé que Thomas.

l'infériorité: moins+adjectif+ que: Pierre est moins âgé que Thomas.

As you probably already guessed, “la supériorité” is “superiority”, “l’égalité” is “equality” (everyone remembers the French motto: “Liberté. Egalité. Fraternité.”, which means: “Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood"), "l'infériorité" - "lower position", well, the words "plus", "aussi", "moins" therefore mean: "more", "same, also", "less".

At first glance, everything seems clear, we substitute adjectives into the formulas, and voilà, a ready-made degree of comparison! That's right! But why did I then point out that those who want to learn French may have problems with this topic?! The thing is, of course, there are exceptions to every rule! In French there are also adjectives that have special forms of forming the comparative degree of comparison. I can reassure you that there are not many of them, only three! Namely: “bon”, “mauvais”, “petit”. Their forms do not change according to the general rule. Thus, the adjective “bon” changes its form to “meilleur” (respectively, in the feminine gender – “meilleure”), “mauvais” - to “pire”, the form “plus mauvais” is also possible, well, and the adjective “petit” - to "moindre" or "plus petit". To illustrate the rule more clearly, look below:

bon-meilleur: Il est meilleur en littérature que moi.

mauvais – pire (plus mauvais) : Je suis pire (plus mauvais) en littérature que toi.

petit – moindre (plus petit) : Ton frère est plus petit que le mien. Il l'a fait avec moindre peur que moi.

With the adjective “bon”, I think everything is clear, with “mauvais” - also (since both options will be synonyms in the case of “mauvais”), but if you were careful, you should have noticed a clear distinction in the use of the forms “moindre” and "plus petit" for the adjective "petit". In which case which form should be used? We use the “moindre” form when we are talking about an abstract concept (in the example, for example, we were talking about fear), but we use the “plus petit” form when we are talking about something concrete that can be measured (for example, we can measure the height of the brother discussed in the example, but we cannot measure fear, because this is a subjective concept).

That's it! I hope you learned a lot of useful and interesting information! Next time we'll talk about superlative comparisons of French adjectives! A bientôt!

As you know, friends, an adjective is one of the main and important parts of speech in the morphology of language. An adjective indicates a characteristic of an object, helps describe it, characterize it. No description is complete without adjectives.

Today we will discuss degrees of comparison of French adjectives, how this whole thing is formed in French and where to apply it.

Les degrés de comparaison des adjectifs is the analytical process of language, that is, auxiliary words are involved in the process of forming degrees. You will find out what these words are in our article. If you are learning French, then you definitely need to study degrees of comparison; such knowledge will make your speech much more developed. So let's get started!

A short course on the degrees of adjectives

Friends, in order not to immediately “plump” into the pool of degrees of French adjectives, let’s first remember how all this is formed in the Russian language. Having remembered the material of the Russian language in this section, it will be easy for you to understand French, because the principle of forming degrees of comparison for adjectives is the same.

In Russian there are comparative and superlative degrees. For example, take the adjective “beautiful”:

Comparative degree:

• More beautiful (more beautiful)
• Less beautiful
• As beautiful as...

Superlative:

• The most beautiful/most beautiful (most beautiful)
• Least beautiful

Pay attention to the example sentences:

• My room is more beautiful (beautiful) than yours.
• My room is less beautiful than yours.
• My room is as beautiful as yours.

Now let's move directly to French adjectives. It is enough to have a good supply of adjectives in French and know those words that help form degrees of comparison. For example, let’s take the adjective raisonnable – reasonable:

Le degré positif:

• raisonnable

Le degré comparatif:

• plus raisonnable que…
• moins raisonnable que…
• aussi raisonnable que…

Le degré superlatif (the article changes depending on the gender and number of the adjective - masculine, feminine:

• le plus raisonnable
• le moins raisonnable

Friends, you, of course, understand that the words in bold are the very helpers in the formation of comparative and superlative degrees. To make everything completely understandable and clear, let's look at this whole thing using the example of sentences in French:

• La maison de Lilie est plus comfortable que la tienne. - HouseLily more comfortable (more convenient ) , how your.
• La maison de Lilie est moins comfortable que la tienne. - HouseLily less comfortable , how your.
• La maison de Lilie est aussi comfortable que la tienne. - HouseLily such same comfortable , How Andyour.
• La maison de Lilie est la plus comfortable de toute la rue. - HouseLily most comfortable fromallstreets.

Friends, pay attention to the short text with translation, and see how the comparative and superlative degrees behave in relation to the gender and number of adjectives:

J'aimbeaucoupnotreclass(I really love our class) . Noussommestrèsamicals,malgréquenoussoyonsdifférents(We are very friendly, despite the fact that we are all different) . Jean est le plus haut garçon de notre class(Jean is the tallest boy in our class) . Fredie est moins haut que Jean, mais il est plus attentif pendant les leçons(Fredi is shorter than Jean, but he is more attentive in class) . Marie est la plus coquette fillette de totes nos fillettes(Marie is the most flirtatious girl of all our girls). Lilie n'est pas coquette, mais elle est la plus intelligence elle connaî tout(Lily is not flirty, but she is the smartest, she knows everything). Cécile est moins intelligente, mais elle est plus vive et gaie que Lilie(Cecile is less intelligent, but she is more lively and cheerful than Lily). Les garçons de notre classe sont plus forts que les garçons de la classe voisine(The boys in our class are stronger than the boys in the neighboring class). Et les fillettes de notre classe sont plus belles que les fillettes de la classe voisine(And the girls in our class are more beautiful than the girls in the neighboring class). Notre classestlameilleure(Our class is the best) !

Don't forget some exceptions!

As in any language, in French almost every rule has its exceptions. This also applies to degrees of comparison. Here the exception is four words, which have their own special form of change in degrees. This form concerns the case where the comparison is to a greater extent.

These are the four words: bon (good),petit (small),mauvais/ mal (bad/bad),bien (Fine). In comparative and superlative degrees they look like this:

• Bon – meilleur(е) – le (la/les) meilleur(е)(s)
• Petit – moindre – le (la/les) moindre(s)
• Mauvais mal – pire – le (la/les) pire(s)
• Bien – mieux – le mieux

Some examples of sentences with these exceptions:

• Mon manuel de français est meilleur que le tien . – MytextbookFrench better , howyour.
• La meilleure decision est parler avec lui. – The best The solution is to talk to him.
• Donne-moi le moindre morceau du gâ - Give me the smallest piece of cake.
• Maintenant se taire est pire que- Nowkeep silent – worse , howspeak.
• Le mieux que tu peux faire maintenant, c'est appeler maman. – The most the best , WhatYoucanNowdo- Thiscallmom.

Well, that's all, friends. Now you know the degrees of comparison of French adjectives. We wish you to quickly become on familiar terms with them and use them in speech as often as possible. See you again!

Adverb forms

1. Simple:

Hier, très, vite, etc.

2. Complex, consisting of several words:

Par hasard, à peu près, etc.

3. Derivatives with the suffix -ment:

Such adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -ment to the feminine form of the adjective:

fort - forte - fortement

doux - douce - doucement.

Notes:

1. Adjectives ending in -i, -e, -u

lose -e feminine:

vrai - vraiment

absolu - absolument

Exception: gai - gaie - gaiement

2. Adjectives ending in -ent or -ant take the suffix -emment or -amment:

prudent – ​​prudence

suffisant – suffisamment

3. Some have a closed e before the suffix:

profond - profonde - profondémment

précis - précise - précisément

4. Some masculine singular adjectives are used as adverbs:

parler bas - speak quietly

chanter fort - sing loudly

Il parle français. — He speaks French.

Cette voiture coûte cher. — This car is expensive.

Degrees of comparison of adverbs

Most adverbs of manner and adverbs longtemps, tôt, tard, souvent, loin, près, vite can be used in the comparative and superlative degrees. They form degrees of comparison in the same way as adjectives.

Positive degree

Comparative degree

Superlative

The adverbs bien, mal, beaucoup, peu have special forms of degrees of comparison.

Positive degree

Comparative degree

Superlative

Note: The forms pis, le pire are considered obsolete. In modern French the forms plus mal que, le plus mal are used.

François habite à Paris plus longtemps que moi. — Francois has lived in Paris longer than I have.

Tu iras moins vite que nous. - You will walk slower than us.

On respire mieux à la montagne. — It’s better to breathe in the mountains.

C'est Robert qui comprend le mieux dans la classe. “Robert is the one who understands best in the class.”

Place of adverbs in a sentence

1. When adverbs in French define an adjective or other adverb, it comes before these words.

C'est un monument remarquablement restauré. — This monument has been wonderfully restored.

Vous marchez trop vite. -You're walking too fast.

2. When an adverb defines a verb, then:

a) in simple tenses the adverb comes after the verb:

Il arrivera demain. - He will arrive tomorrow.

Le chien couche dehors. — The dog is sleeping outside.

b) in complex tenses, the adverb stands between the auxiliary verb and the participle.

Il m'a souvent parlé de son enfance. — He often told me about his childhood.

Vous avez beaucoup maigri. - You have lost a lot of weight.

Note: If an adverb in French is a long word, it comes after the participle.

Nous avons déjeuné rapidement. — We had lunch quickly.

Adverbs of place also come after the participle.

Il a travaillé là-bas pendant cinq ans. — He worked there for five years.

3. When an adverb refers to a whole sentence, it can appear at the beginning, at the end or in the middle of the sentence.

Dans ce jardin, partout il y a des fleurs.

Dans ce jardin, il y a partout des fleurs.

Dans ce jardin, il y a des fleurs partout. - There are flowers everywhere in this garden (There are flowers everywhere in this garden.).

Demain, le magasin ouvrira à 10 heures. — Tomorrow the store will open at 10 o’clock.

Le magasin ouvrira demain à 10 heures. — The store will open tomorrow at 10 o’clock.

Features of the use of some adverbs

a) the basic meaning is good:

Il travaille bien. - It works well.

b) meaning very before an adjective or adverb:

Je suis bien content. - I'm very pleased.

c) the meaning of many before a noun:

Vous avez fait bien des fautes dans votre dictée. — You made a lot of mistakes in your dictation.

d) meaning after all or when expressing a request:

Où est Julie? - Tu sais bien qu'elle est à la piscine. - Where is Julie? “You know she’s in the pool.”

Que préférez-vous les oranges ou bien les pommes? —What do you prefer, oranges or apples?

Voulez-vous bien me passer ce livre? - Give me this book, please.

2.beaucoup

a) used with a verb:

Il voyage beaucoup. — He travels a lot. Il aime beaucoup le café. — He loves coffee very much.

b) used with a noun (but never with an adjective):

Il fait beaucoup de voyages. — He travels a lot.

Il boit beaucoup de café. — He drinks coffee a lot.

c) can be used comparatively:

Cet hôtel est beaucoup plus comfortable que l'autre. – This hotel is much more comfortable than the other one.

3. aussi - autant

a) the adverb aussi is used with an adjective or adverb:

Il est aussi grand que son père. — He is as tall as his father.

Note: The adverb aussi is used only in the affirmative form in the meaning too.

Tu as lu ce livre. Moi aussi. - You read this book. Me too.

b) the adverb autant is used with the verb:

Il pleut autant qu’hier. — It’s raining just like yesterday.

As in Russian, qualitative adjectives in French have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative And excellent:

Positive degree:

Gai (e) (s) - cheerful

Comparative degree:

plus gai (e) (s) - more cheerful

aussi gai(e)(s) - just as cheerful

moins gai(e) (s) - less cheerful

Superlative:

le plus gai - the most cheerful

la plus gaie - the most fun

les plus gai(e)s - the most fun

le moins gai - the least cheerful

la moins gaie - the least fun

les moins gai(e)s - the least fun ones

An adjective in a positive degree does not compare an object with others in terms of the degree of any quality, but only indicates the quality of the object itself:

Cette fille est talentueuse. This girl is talented.

En hiver les nuits sont longues. In winter the nights are long.

The comparative adjective indicates the degree of quality of a given item and compares it with others. Adjectives can express three degrees of quality: greater, lesser and equal, using the adverbs plus - more, moins - less, aussi - also, and after the adjective the conjunction que (than, as) is placed:

Cette fille est plus talentueuse que sa copine. This girl is more talented than her friend.

En hiver les journées sont moins longues qu'en été. In winter the days are shorter than in summer.

Ma fille est aussi grande que la fille de mon amie. My daughter is as tall as my friend's daughter.

A superlative adjective indicates the highest or lowest degree of quality, using definite articles (le, la, les) and adverbs plus and moins:

Cette fille est la moins talentueuse des étudiants. This girl is the least talented of all the students.

En hiver les nuits sont les plus longues. In winter the nights are the longest.

When an adjective is used directly with a noun, it appears both before and after the noun. In the case when an adjective comes after a noun, the definite article is used twice, before the noun and before the adjective after the noun:

C'est la plus magnifique maison. This is the best house.

C'est la maison la plus magnifique. This is the best house.

If there is a possessive adjective, then it is placed only before the noun instead of the definite article:

C'est ma plus magnifique maison. C'est ma maison la plus magnifique.

Adjectives bon, mauvais, petit have special forms of degrees of comparison:

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Used when comparing something/someone.

Formed using adverbs plus(more) , moins(less), aussi(same), which are placed before the adjective. The second part of the comparison is preceded by a conjunction que(than, how):

Pierre est plus grand que moi. — Pierre is taller than me.

Ma voiture est aussi rapide que la tienne. — My car is as fast as yours.

Pierre est moins sportif que moi. — Pierre is less athletic than me.

If a sentence uses several comparative adjectives, then the adverbs plus, moins, aussi are repeated before each:

Ce film est plus interior et plus long que celui-là. — This film is more interesting and longer than that one.

The second part of the comparison may not be mentioned in the sentence, but only implied:

Lisons ce livre, il est plus intéressant (implied - que l’autre livre). — Let's read this book, it's more interesting (than the other one).

Attention!

Don't forget about adjective agreement! — Feminine education; plural

Adjectives with special forms in the comparative degree

• Better(comparative degree of adjective bon) — meilleur/ meilleure / meilleurs / meilleures:

Ce travail est meilleur que celui de Pierre. — This work is better than Pierre's work.

Cette pomme est meilleure que celle-là. — This apple is better than that one.

If the adverbs moins or aussi are used, the comparative construction is built according to the rule:

Cette pomme est moins bonne que celle-là. — This apple is worse (less good) than that one.

Cette pomme est aussi bonne que celle-là. - Eh then the apple is (as good) as that.

• Worse(comparative degree with the adverb plus from the adjective mauvais) - plus mauvaisorpire/pires (used less often in colloquial speech):

Ces notes sont plus mauvaises que cells de Pierre. —

Ces notes sont pires que celles de Pierre. — His grades are worse than Pierre's.

• Less(comparative degree with the adverb plus from the adjective petit) - plus petit or moindre/moindres( in an abstract sense):

Ma maison est plus petite que la tienne. — My house is smaller than yours.

Ce film a eu un succès moindre que prévu. — This film turned out to be less successful than expected.

Superlatives - Le superlatif

The superlative degree is formed by combining a comparative adjective and a definite article (le, la, les) or possessive adjective, which are placed before adverbs (plus, moins, aussi):

C'est la plus large avenue de la ville. — This is the widest avenue in the city.

C'est mon plus grand ami. — This is my very best friend.

The superlative adjective is placed before or after the noun depending on the place it usually occupies. If an adjective is placed after a noun, then the definite article is repeated twice: before the noun and before the adverb plus, moins, aussi:

Ce sont les plus petites pièces. — These are the smallest rooms.

C'est la pièce la plus claire. — This is the brightest room.

But: if several superlative adjectives are used in a sentence, all of them, regardless of their position in a regular sentence, are placed after the noun:

C'est la piece la plus grande et la plus claire. — This is the largest and brightest room.

Adjectives with special forms in the superlative degree

Those adjectives that have special comparative forms in the positive degree (with the adverb plus) retain them in the superlative:

• bon - le / la / les meilleur / meilleure / meilleurs / meilleures;
• mauvais - le / la / les plus mauvais / mauvaise / mauvaises or le / la / les pire / pires;
• petit - le / la / les plus petit / petite / petits / petites or le / la / les moindre / moindres;

see notes on comparative degree.

Differences in the translation of degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs

Four Russian comparative adjectives have forms that coincide with adverbs: less, more, better, worse. In order to correctly translate these words into French, you must first understand what part of speech they are. Adjectives will refer to nouns and adverbs will refer to verbs.