By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say "the biggest", "the least expensive" and "the best" in French, and say where something is the best.
From comparative to superlative
You know plus and moins from the lesson on comparatives. To make a superlative, add the article: le, la or les. The article and the adjective both agree with the noun.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le plus / la plus / les plus | luh PLEW / lah PLEW / lay PLEW | the most |
| le moins / la moins / les moins | luh MWAN / lah MWAN / lay MWAN | the least |
| le meilleur / la meilleure | luh meh-YUHR / lah meh-YUHR | the best (masculine / feminine)Plural: les meilleurs / les meilleures. |
| le mieux | luh MYUH | the best (with a verb) |
C'est le plus grand pays.
It's the biggest country.
C'est la plus petite ville.
It's the smallest town.
Ce sont les moins chers.
They're the cheapest.
Where the adjective goes
The position depends on the adjective, as you learned in the lesson on adjective agreement.
Most adjectives follow the noun. In a superlative, they stay there, and the article is repeated.
C'est la ville la plus intéressante.
It's the most interesting city.
Le film le plus drôle.
The funniest film.
BAGS adjectives normally come before the noun. In a superlative, they can stay before it, or they can go after it with the article repeated. Both are correct.
- la plus grande ville (the biggest city)
- la ville la plus grande (the biggest city)
The article is what makes it a superlative. Une ville plus grande is "a bigger city", but la ville la plus grande is "the biggest city". In the plural, les does the same job, and the adjective takes its plural ending: les plus grandes villes de France (the biggest cities in France), les villes les plus intéressantes (the most interesting cities).
"In" is de
After a superlative, French uses de for "in" or "of". It joins up with le and les as usual.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le monde | luh MOHND | the world |
| la classe | lah KLAHSS | the class |
| un élève / une élève | uh-nay-LEV / ew-nay-LEV | a pupil (boy / girl) |
| la région | lah ray-ZHYOHN | the region |
C'est la plus belle ville de France.
It's the most beautiful city in France.
C'est le plus grand pays du monde.
It's the biggest country in the world.
Marie est la meilleure élève de la classe.
Marie is the best pupil in the class.
The best
Bon becomes le meilleur, which agrees like any adjective, and usually goes before its noun.
C'est le meilleur restaurant de Lille.
It's the best restaurant in Lille.
Ce sont les meilleures fraises du marché.
They're the best strawberries at the market.
Bien becomes le mieux. As an adverb, it always takes le, even for a woman. So do all superlatives with adverbs.
Léa danse le mieux.
Léa dances the best.
Il parle le plus vite.
He speaks the fastest.
Anne travaille le moins.
Anne works the least.
Using it
You can use all this with the places and the food you already know.
- Paris est la plus grande ville de France. (Paris is the biggest city in France.)
- Le fromage de ma mère est le meilleur. (My mother's cheese is the best.)
- Le train est le moins cher. (The train is the cheapest.)
En français
- Quelle est la plus belle ville de France ? (What's the most beautiful city in France?)
- Pour moi, c'est Annecy. (For me, it's Annecy.)
- Et le meilleur restaurant d'Annecy ? (And the best restaurant in Annecy?)
- C'est le restaurant de mon frère, évidemment ! (It's my brother's restaurant, obviously!)
What's next
Next, the lesson on home and household chores gives you the words for where you live. You'll use superlatives to describe your town in the lesson on describing where you live.