French Grammar: Comparisons of Quantity
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Identify:
French Grammar: Comparisons of Quantity
la grammaire française: le comparatif de quantité
Review:
Study:
Comparisons of Quantity are used to compare the quantities of two different nouns / kinds of nouns. Make sure not to confuse them with Comparisons of Equality or Comparisons of Inequality.. Actually, though, comparisons of quantities include types of comparisons of equality and inequality.
Making Comparisons of Quantity in French requires a specific grammatical construction. It’s like using a mathematical formula in order to communicate meaning!
Use the following constructions to compare quantities of nouns:
plus + de (d’) + noun + que : more (noun) than
Examples:
Pierre a plus de soeurs que moi.
Pierre has more sisters than me.
Marie achète plus de livres que les autres.
Marie is buying more books than the others.
Je gagne plus d’argent que mon frère.
I earn more money than my brother.
moins + de (d’) + noun + que : less / fewer (noun) than
Examples:
J’ai moins de soeurs que Pierre.
I have less (fewer) sisters than Pierre.
Les autres achètent moins de livres que Marie.
The others are buying less (fewer) books than Marie.
Mon frère gagne moins d’argent que moi.
My brother earns less money than me.
autant + de (d’) + noun + que : as much / as many (noun) as
Examples:
Pierre a autant de soeurs que moi.
Pierre has as many sisters as me.
Marie achète autant de livres que les autres.
Marie is buying as many books as the others.
Je gagne autant d’argent que mon frère.
I earn as much money as my brother.
Adapt:
Je n’ai pas autant d’argent que Bill Gates.
I don’t have as much money as Bill Gates.
La bibliothèque a plus de livres que moi.
The library has more books than me.
Elle a moins de devoirs qu’eux.
She has less homework than them.
Nous avons plus de pommes que d’oranges.
We have more apples than oranges.
Il y a moins de bruit dans cette rue que dans l’autre.
There is less noise in this street than in the other.
Il regarde autant de télévision qu’elle.
He watches as much television as her.
