Could someone help me determine if this construction is correct:
J’ai vraiment toujours beaucoup plus de choses à apprendre.
Merci d'avance!
Making comparisons with nouns (I have more books than he [does], as opposed to I'm taller than he [is]) is different than making comparisons with adjectives, verbs or adverbs.
How to express to have more [things] than [someone]
J'ai plus de livres que toi
I have more books than you (do).
Marie a autant de vêtements que sa mère
Marie has as many clothes as her mother (does).
Tu as moins de chaussures qu'elle.
You have fewer shoes than she (does).
Note that to compare nouns, you will use comparative words as follows:
| English | French |
|
more [thing/s] than |
plus de [chose/s] que |
| less/fewer [thing/s] than | moins de [chose/s] que |
| as much/many [thing/s] as | autant de [chose/s] que |
Note that in all three forms, de is required before the noun. And remember that de becomes d' in front of a vowel or mute h.
Whereas in English, you will need to use a subject pronoun after than (... than I (do), you (do), he/she (does)...), in French you will once again use the stress pronoun after que (... que moi, toi, lui/elle, nous, vous, eux/elles). You will also never repeat the verb (do/am/have) afterwards:
J'ai plus d'œufs en chocolat que tu as toi.
I have more chocolate eggs than you do.
I have more chocolate eggs than you do.
How to express more [things] than [other things]
Il y a plus de filles que de garçons dans ma classe.
There are more girls than boys in my class.
Il connaît moins de poèmes italiens que d'espagnols.
He knows fewer Italian poems than Spanish [ones].
Tu fais preuve d'autant d'esprit que d'intelligence.
You show as much wit as cleverness.
When expressing there are more/fewer/as many-much [thing/s] than/as [other thing/s], you need to add de after que, e.g.:
Il y a + plus/moins/autant de [chose/s] + que de [chose/s]
See also other Comparative structures:
Plus... plus..., moins... moins... = the more...the more..., the less...the less... (comparisons with phrases)
Better and better, worse and worse = de mieux en mieux, de pire en pire (comparisons)
De plus en plus and de moins en moins = more and more and less and less (comparisons with adjectives, adverbs, verbs)
De plus en plus de and de moins en moins de = more and more and less and less (comparisons of nouns)
Making comparisons with adjectives: plus... que, aussi... que, moins... que
Making comparisons with adverbs: plus... que, aussi... que, moins... que
Making comparisons with verbs: plus que, autant que, moins que
And for Superlative forms, see:
Le, la, les plus and le, la, les moins = the most and the least (superlatives of adjectives)
Meilleur, mieux, pire / plus mauvais, plus mal = better, best, worse and worst (irregular comparatives and superlatives)
Le plus and le moins = the most and the least (superlative of adverbs)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Marie a autant de vêtements que sa mère
Marie has as many clothes as her mother (does).
Il connaît moins de poèmes italiens que d'espagnols.
He knows fewer Italian poems than Spanish [ones].
J'ai plus de livres que toi
I have more books than you (do).
Il y a plus de filles que de garçons dans ma classe.
There are more girls than boys in my class.
Tu as moins de chaussures qu'elle.
You have fewer shoes than she (does).
Tu fais preuve d'autant d'esprit que d'intelligence.
You show as much wit as cleverness.
Q&A Forum 5 questions, 12 answers
Hi Bill,
"J'ai vraiment encore beaucoup de choses à apprendre "
would be the answer in my opinion for,
" I still have a lot of things to learn"
The 'plus' (more) makes it sound very clumsy in French...
Bill asked:View original
Construction correct
Could someone help me determine if this construction is correct:
J’ai vraiment toujours beaucoup plus de choses à apprendre.
Merci d'avance!
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AleidaKwiziq community member
Don't these two sentences mean the same thing?
"Nous avons DAVANTAGE d'enfants que lui" and "Nous avons PLUS D'enfants que lui"
I put 'davantage' and it was marked wrong.
Asked 2 years ago
Ron Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonsoir Aleida,
According to the Collins-Robert:
davantage de and plus de have the same meaning --> more.
I am uncertain the reason that «plus de» is more commonly used in this type of syntax, perhaps it is better for the pronunciation linguistic effect.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi Aleida, according to my understanding "davantage" and "plus" are synonyms. It is just that davantage is more formal. And you can't use it in comparisons where you would use plus as in "I have more apples than you" -- "J'ai plus de pommes que toi." You could not use davantage in this example.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aleida asked:View original
Don't these two sentences mean the same thing?
"Nous avons DAVANTAGE d'enfants que lui" and "Nous avons PLUS D'enfants que lui"
I put 'davantage' and it was marked wrong.
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Kwiziq community member
plu de plus de
do we have lessons explaining when to use plu de and plus de? Thanks Bonnie
Asked 2 years ago
Kwiziq community member
sorry, I didn't word that very well. when to pronounce the s and when it is silent.
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Bonnie !
The general rule here is as such:
- Never pronounce the "s" when "plus" has a negative meaning (no more, no ... left):
"Je n'ai plu[s] de beurre." (I have no butter left)
but
- Pronounce it in positive context most of the time, though it can be omitted:
"Il y a de plus en plu[s] / de plus en pluS de pollution." (more and more)
The only cases you need to pronounce it is when the meaning could be either negative or positive, for clarity.
For example, when using "ne...plus", as a lot of people would drop the "ne" in speech:
"Je fume plu[s]." = Je ne fume plus. = I don't smoke any more.
"Je fume pluS." = I smoke more.
Here are links to our related lessons:
De plus en plus de and de moins en moins de = more and more and less and less (comparisons of nouns)
Making comparisons with nouns: plus de... que, moins de... que, autant de... que
N'avoir plus de = To have none left (negation)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Kwiziq community member
Very helpful! Also, thank you for pin pointing the links that address this question.
Bon week end,
Bonnie
Bonnie asked:View original
plu de plus de
do we have lessons explaining when to use plu de and plus de? Thanks Bonnie
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Susan Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
J'ai plus de livres que toi: the "s" in plus is pronounced.
Is this correct?
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Susan !
Yes, it is correct, as "plus" is here used in a positive sense (meaning "more"), and not as a negation ("not... anymore"), you therefore need to pronounce the "s" (not all the time mind you, there are exceptions, but not there!) :)
Susan asked:View original
J'ai plus de livres que toi: the "s" in plus is pronounced.
Is this correct?
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