Superlatives in French are essential for expressing the highest or lowest degree of a quality. Whether you are comparing adjectives, adverbs, verbs, or nouns, understanding the rules and exceptions will considerably help you sound more natural.
In this episode of The Coffee Break French Show, Max and Pierre-Benoît take a closer look into the world of superlatives in French. We’ll explore various structures and uses, providing clear examples and highlighting key exceptions and specific rules. The Coffee Break French Show is a podcast series designed to break down complex French language topics into engaging, bite-sized conversations.
Continue reading to enhance your understanding of superlatives in French, and listen along to the podcast episode to hear the pronunciation and usage in context. Don’t forget to check out the free worksheet at the end to practise what you learn!
The basics
Let’s start with the basics:
le plus
the most
le moins
the least
With adjectives
To say that something is “the most” something, you need the definite article (le, la or les), followed by the word plus and the adjective. For example:
le plus cher
the most expensive (masculine)
la plus chère
the most expensive (feminine)
les plus chers / chères
the most expensive (plural, masculine / feminine)
The structure is very similar to say “the least” something. We use le, la or les, followed by moins and the adjective.
le moins cher
the least expensive (masculine)
la moins chère
the least expensive (feminine)
les moins chers / chères
the least expensive (plural, masculine / feminine)
Further examples:
le plus beau / le plus sérieux
the most handsome / the most serious (m)
la plus belle / la plus sérieuse
the most beautiful / the most serious (f)
les plus beaux / les plus sérieux
the most handsome / the most serious (plural, m)
les plus belles / les plus sérieuses
the most beautiful / the most serious (plural, f)
When it comes to the pronunciation of plus and moins, the final –s is normally kept silent, although you may occasionally find people from specific regions who choose to pronounce the final –s.
However, if the adjective starts with a vowel, you then have to make a z sound liaison between plus / moins and the adjective.
With ‘bon’ & ‘mauvais’
The superlative forms of the adjectives bon / bonne (“good”) and mauvais / mauvaise (“bad”) are irregular.
le meilleur / la meilleure / les meilleurs / les meilleures
the best (m singular / f singular / m plural / f plural)
le pire / la pire / les pires
the worst (m singular / f singular / m & f plural)
With ‘petit’
Petit / petite is an interesting word. It means “small” and it can be in the sense of size, but also in the sense of significance. And the way to form the superlative of petit is different depending on its meaning.
Size or measurement:
le / la / les plus petit(e/s)
the smallest, the shortest
Value or importance:
le moindre problème / souci
the slightest problem / worry
As you can see with the examples, le plus petit, la plus petite, les plus petits and les plus petites are the correct ways to translate “the smallest” or “the shortest” when referring to size or measurement. When petit is about importance / significance, then you have to use le moindre, la moindre, les moindres.
With adverbs
It is also possible to use superlatives in French with adverbs. The structure is very similar and all you need is le followed by plus or moins.
le plus / moins sérieusement
the most / least seriously
le plus rapidement / vite
the fastest, the quickest
le plus tôt / tard
the earliest / latest
Remember, adverbs are not gendered. This means that even if the subject is feminine, there is no agreement. For example:
C’est elle qui court le plus rapidement.
It is she who runs the fastest.
With ‘bien’ & ‘mal’
We saw earlier that “good” and “bad” (bon and mauvais) follow a different rule than other adjectives when using superlatives in French. Similarly, the adverb bien (“well”) also follows a different rule.
C’est moi qui chante le mieux.
I’m the one who sings best.
C’est elle qui chante le plus mal.
She is the one who sings the worst.
As you can see from the examples, the superlative of bien is le mieux. The superlative of mal is le plus mal. Again, there is no feminine or plural version.
With verbs
Superlatives in French with verbs follow the same structure. Consider these examples:
parler le plus
to speak the most
travailler le moins
to work the least
Interestingly, the final –s in plus is normally pronounced. Regarding moins, the final –s is usually not pronounced. However, it is pronounced in some regions of France, so don’t be alarmed if you hear different pronunciations!
With nouns
Having looked at adjectives, adverbs and verbs, let’s now look at examples of superlatives in French with nouns:
le jour où il y a le plus / le moins de monde
the day when there are the most / least people
le jour où il y a le plus de soleil
the day with the most sun
Remember, when de is followed by a noun starting with a vowel, it becomes d’.
le plus d’énergie / d’argent
the most energy / money
le moins d’énergie / d’argent
the least energy / money
Other things to consider
If the superlative is placed after the noun, the article needs to be repeated, which is quite different from English. Regardons ces exemples :
le plus beau village de France
the most beautiful village in France
le village le plus beau de France
the village that is the most beautiful in France
la plus belle ville de France
the most beautiful city in France
la ville la plus belle de France
the city that is the most beautiful in France
la plus chère voiture électrique
the most expensive electric car
la voiture électrique la plus chère
the electric car that is the most expensive
Testing examples
Now, let’s put your newfound knowledge to the test! Here are three sentences in English; your challenge is to translate them into French. Remember to try to identify whether the superlatives involve an adjective, a verb, an adverb or a noun! You can find the answers at the end of this article.
- It’s Mary who is the tallest.
- It’s John who has the most energy.
- She sings the best and she is the best singer.
Understanding superlatives in French, including their structure and usage with different parts of speech, is crucial for expressing extremes and comparisons effectively. Practising these superlatives in various contexts will help you become more fluent and accurate in your French communication. Additionally, knowing the difference between mieux vs. meilleur is key to mastering comparatives and superlatives in French.
Don’t forget to listen to our podcast episode on superlatives in French with Max and Pierre-Benoît on The Coffee Break French Show. And make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our YouTube channel to stay updated with new lessons and episodes.
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Happy Coffee Breaking!
PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge:
- C’est Mary qui est la plus grande.
- C’est John qui a le plus d’énergie.
- Elle chante le mieux et elle est la meilleure chanteuse.
