Language/French/Grammar/Compare-numbers
comparisons with the verb être[edit | edit source]
When numbers figure in comparisons with the verb être, they are often preceded by de:
- Elle est mon aînée de six ans
She is six years older than me
- La fenêtre est trop grande de cinq centimètres
The window is five centimetres too big
- Elle est plus lourde de huit kilos
She is eight kilograms heavier
alternative expressions with avoir[edit | edit source]
In some of these cases alternative expressions with avoir are possible:
- Elle a six ans de plus que moi
- J'ai six ans de moins qu'elle
Translating 'more than' and 'less than' into French[edit | edit source]
Translating 'more than' and 'less than' into French often causes English speakers some difficulty, because there are two possibilities:
- plus de / plus que
- moins de / moins que
plus de, moins de imply that there is a specific benchmark against which something is measured as being 'more than' or 'less than', and this is often a number:
- Elle gagne plus de 5 000€ par mois
She earns more than 5,000 euros a month (5 000€ is the benchmark - she earns more than this)
- Il travaille moins de deux heures par jour
He works less than two hours a day
(deux heures is the benchmark - he works less than this)
- Interdit aux moins de 15 ans
Not suitable for children under fifteen
(15 ans is the benchmark - below this age, children are not allowed)
plus que, moins que imply a comparison between one person or thing and another, without a specific benchmark being mentioned:
- Elle gagne plus que moi
She earns more than me
(how much I earn isn't specified - but she earns more)
- Il travaille moins que son frère
He works less than his brother
(how much his brother works isn't specified - but he works less)
The difference between the two can be illustrated in the following pair of sentences:
- Elle a réuni plus de cinquante de ses collègues pour la fête
She.got more than fifty of her colleagues together for the party
(cinquante de ses collègues is the benchmark - she managed to persuade more colleagues than this to come)
- Elle a gagné plus que tous ses collègues ensemble pendant l'année
She earned more than all her colleagues during the year
(her colleagues earned an unspecified amount during the year - however much it was, she earned more than this)
compare one measurement with another[edit | edit source]
NB: The following expressions compare one measurement with another:
- quatre mètres sur trois
four metres by three
- un Français sur sept
one French person in seven
- une chose à la fois
one thing at a time
- 20% par an 20% a year
deux heures par jour two hours a day
litres aux cent[edit | edit source]
'miles per gallon' is measured in French by the number of litres consumed per hundred kilometres: dix litres aux cent (kilomètres) (roughly 30 miles per gallon).
Other Chapters[edit | edit source]
Videos[edit | edit source]
Comparisons in French | Le Comparatif[edit | edit source]
How to compare in French[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Possessive determiners
- y and en as an integral part of the verb structure
- Definite and indefinite articles
- Use of on
- The plural of compound nouns
- Easy way of generating the imperfect subjunctive
- Possessive pronouns
- Directly transitive verbs take the auxiliary “avoir”
- Past Tense
- Agreement of past participle if direct object is placed before
- Agreement of past participles with preceding direct objects in questions
- Stressed pronouns used as the object of a preposition
- Differences in the use of numbers in French and English Order of cardinal numbers and adjectives
- Quantifiers — tout and chaque
- "de" when an adjective precedes the noun