Language/French/Grammar/Compare-numbers
comparisons with the verb être
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
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
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
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
'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).
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