In French, to express "more and more / less and less + [adjective/adverb/verb]", you use "de plus en plus / de moins en moins + [adjective/adverb/verb]".
How to use 'de plus en plus' and 'de moins en moins' to make comparisons in French
Look at these examples:
Note that to use more and more and less and less in French, it goes as follows:
| English | French |
|
more and more [adjective] [adjective]-er and [adjective]-er |
de plus en plus [adjectif] |
less and less [adjective] |
de moins en moins [adjectif] |
more and more [adverb] less and less [adverb] |
de plus en plus [adverbe] de moins en moins [adverbe] |
[verb] more and more [verb] less and less |
[verbe] de plus en plus [verbe] de moins en moins |
Attention:
De plus en plus/De moins en moins (on their own) cannot be placed at the beginning of the sentence, unlike in English:
More and more, I knew what I wanted.
De plus en plus, je savais ce que je voulais.
-> Je savais de plus en plus ce que je voulais.
More and more, I knew what I wanted.
De plus en plus, je savais ce que je voulais.
-> Je savais de plus en plus ce que je voulais.
See also Better and better, worse and worse = de mieux en mieux, de pire en pire (Comparisons in French),
Plus... plus..., moins... moins... = the more...the more..., the less...the less... (comparisons with phrases)
and De plus en plus de / de moins en moins de + [nom] = more and more / less and less + [nouns] (Comparisons in French)
Here are other Comparative structures:
Plus ... que/Moins ... que/Aussi ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As ... as (Comparisons with Adjectives in French)
Plus ... que/Moins ... que/Aussi ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As ... as (Comparisons with Adverbs in French)
Plus que/Moins que/Autant que = More than/Less than/As much as (Comparisons with Verbs in French)
Plus de ... que/Moins de ... que/Autant de ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As much/many ... as (Comparisons with Nouns in French)
And Superlative structures:
Le/la/les plus and Le/la/les moins = The most and the least (Superlative with Adjectives in French)
Le plus/Le moins = The most/the least (Superlative with Adverbs in French)
Forming the superlative of French adjectives in complex cases
Meilleur, mieux, pire / plus mauvais, plus mal = better, best, worse and worst in French (irregular comparatives and superlatives)
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