Goal
You’ll be able to form comparatives and superlatives in French, and know the genuinely important irregular forms that don’t follow the regular pattern.
Learn
Comparatives use plus…que (more…than) or moins…que (less…than):
Elle est plus grande que lui. (She is taller than him.) Superlatives use le/la plus… (the most…):
Elle est la plus grande de la classe. (She is the tallest in the class.) A genuinely important irregular exception: bon (good) does not use the regular pattern — it becomes meilleur (better), not plus bon. This mirrors the same kind of exception covered for Spanish bueno/mejor, though the actual words are naturally different. Mauvais (bad) has both a regular form (plus mauvais) and an irregular form (pire, worse), with pire often preferred in more formal or emphatic contexts.
Decision Task
You want to say “this book is better than that one,” using bon. Before reading on: would you say plus bon, following the regular pattern, or is there a specific irregular form needed?
Show Answer
You need the irregular form meilleur, not plus bon — ce livre est meilleur que celui-là. Bon is a genuine exception to the regular plus…que pattern, similar to the same kind of exception in Spanish and English.
Common Mistake
Applying the regular plus…que pattern to bon, producing the incorrect plus bon instead of the correct irregular form meilleur. This specific adjective genuinely doesn’t follow the regular comparative pattern and must be memorized as an exception.
Practice Questions
1. Write “She is taller than him” using the comparative pattern.
Show Answer
Elle est plus grande que lui.
2. What is the irregular comparative form of bon (good)?
Show Answer
meilleur (better), not plus bon.
3. Write “the tallest in the class” using the superlative pattern, for a feminine subject.
Show Answer
la plus grande de la classe
4. What is the irregular comparative form of mauvais (bad), often preferred in formal contexts?
Show Answer
pire (worse).
5. True or False: every French adjective follows the regular plus…que pattern for comparatives, with no exceptions.
Show Answer
False — bon specifically has an irregular comparative form, meilleur.
Try It Yourself
Without looking back, write “this is worse than that,” choosing between the regular and irregular form of mauvais appropriately.
Show Answer
C’est pire que ça. (using the irregular, often-preferred pire) — though c’est plus mauvais que ça using the regular form is also grammatically acceptable.
Quick Check
1. What does plus…que mean?
Show Answer
“More…than”
2. What is the irregular comparative of bon?
Show Answer
meilleur
3. What is a possible irregular comparative of mauvais?
Show Answer
pire
4. How is a superlative formed, using le/la plus?
Show Answer
“The most…” — e.g. la plus grande, “the tallest.”
5. Is plus bon correct French?
Show Answer
No — the correct form is meilleur.