Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs

What is an adjective? adjective= a word which describes a noun example in english = tall example in french =grand what is an adverb? Adverb = a word which describes a verb example in english = often example in french = souvent

When we say ‘comparative,’ what do we mean When we say ‘comparative,’ what do we mean? > We are comparing something or something, saying it is bigger, smaller, fatter, thinner, than someone or something else. When we say ‘superlative.’ what do we mean? > we are saying something or someone is the biggest, the smallest, the fattest, the thinnest etc. out of a selection of people or things.

Comparative adjectives Comparing people or things = = more/ less/ as + adjective + than/as plus/ moins/ aussi + adjective + que Katie is taller than Claire Katie est plus grande que Claire Tom is as happy as Tim Tom est aussi content que Tim

Two key irregular comparative adjectives: better = meilleur(e)(s) + que worse = pire(s) + que Pears are better than apples Les poires sont meilleures que les pommes Honey is worse than jam Le miel est pire que la confiture

Comparative adverbs Comparing actions = Katie works faster than Claire = more/ less/ as/ as much as + adverb + than/as plus/ moins/ aussi/ autant + adverb + que Katie works faster than Claire Katie travaille plus vite que Claire Tom swims slower than Tim Tom nage plus lentement que Tim Tom likes swimming as much as Tim Tom aime nager autant que Tim

Two key irregular comparative adverbs: better = mieux + que worse = pire + que Sophie draws better than Natalie Sophie dessine mieux que Natalie Jean-Paul writes worse than Pierre Jean-Paul écrit pire que Pierre

superlative adjectives Superlative of people or things = = the most/least + adjective =le, la, les + plus/moins + adjective Katie is the tallest in the class Katie est la plus grande dans la classe Tom is the happiest in his family Tom est le plus content de sa famille

Two key irregular superlative adjectives: the best = le/la/les + meilleur(e)(s) the worst = le/la/les + pire(s) Pears are the best Les poires sont les meilleures Honey is the worst thing to eat Le miel est la pire chose à manger (notice how ‘la pire’ agrees with ‘chose’ which is feminine, because you are saying it’s ‘the worst thing’)

superlative adverbs Superlative of actions = = the most/least + adverb =le + plus/moins + adverb Katie swims the fastest Katie nage le plus vite Tom cooks the slowest Tom cuisine le moins vite/ plus lentement Notice how we only use ‘le’ here, because adverbs don’t change in gender or number.

Two key irregular superlative adverbs: the best = le mieux the worst = le pire Peter reads the best/the worst Peter lit le mieux/ le pire

Comparative Adjective Comparative Adverb Superlative Adjective Superlative Adverb Regular: plus + adj + que plus + adv+ que le /la/ les plus + adj le plus + adv moins + adj + que moins + adv+ que le/ la/ les moins + adj aussi + adj + que aussi + adv+ que autant + adv+ que Irregular meilleur(e)(s) + que mieux + que le/la/les meilleur(e)(s) le mieux pire(s) + que pire + que le/la/les pires le pire