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Comparatives: plus, moins, aussi

FoundationHigherAQA

Understand Comparatives: plus, moins, aussi for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Comparisons use plus...que, moins...que and aussi...que to mean more, less and as.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

Comparatives compare two things, and French forms them with plus, moins or aussi placed before the adjective.

Plus...que means more...than: il est plus grand que moi. Moins...que means less...than: elle est moins grande que lui. Aussi...que means as...as: je suis aussi grand que toi.

The adjective still agrees with the noun it describes, and que introduces what is being compared. After que, use an emphatic pronoun — plus grand que moi, never plus grand que je. English adds -er to short adjectives, but French never does this: taller is plus grand, never grander in any form.

Revision notes

The three comparatives

Plus...que — more...than. Moins...que — less...than. Aussi...que — as...as.

Il est plus grand que moi. Elle est moins grande que lui. Je suis aussi grand que toi.

Agreement and que

The adjective agrees with the noun it describes, not with what it is compared to.

Elle est plus grande que Marc — grande agrees with elle. Que introduces the comparison, and an emphatic pronoun follows it: que moi, que toi, que lui.

No -er ending

French never adds an ending to make a comparative.

Taller is plus grand. Smaller is plus petit. Every comparative uses plus, moins or aussi, with no exceptions among regular adjectives.

Key points

  • Plus...que means more than.
  • Moins...que means less than.
  • Aussi...que means as as.
  • The adjective agrees with its noun.
  • An emphatic pronoun follows que.
  • French never adds an -er ending.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: he is taller than me. [2 marks]

Working

Il est plus grand que moiuse plus with the adjective and que
Moi is the emphatic pronoun required after queexplain the pronoun

Example 2

Translate: she is less tall than him. [2 marks]

Working

Elle est moins grande que luiuse moins with the agreed adjective
Grande agrees with elle, and lui follows queexplain the agreement and pronoun

Example 3

Translate: I am as tall as you, informally. [2 marks]

Working

Je suis aussi grand que toiuse aussi with the adjective and que
Toi is the emphatic form of tu after queexplain the pronoun

Common mistakes

  • Adding -er to the adjective.

    French uses plus, not an ending.

  • Using je or tu after que.

    Emphatic pronouns are required: moi, toi.

  • Agreeing with the wrong noun.

    The adjective agrees with what it describes.

  • Omitting que.

    It is required to introduce the comparison.

Exam tips

  • Use plus, moins or aussi before the adjective.
  • Follow que with an emphatic pronoun.
  • Agree the adjective with its own noun.
  • Never add an English-style -er ending.

Key terms

Comparative
A structure comparing two things.
Plus...que
More than.
Aussi...que
As as.
Emphatic pronoun
The form required after que.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.