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Downtime learning french Plus and moins
| Plus and moins |
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| Tuesday, 19 February 2008 | |
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There are two problems with plus: pronunciation and meaning. If the ‘s’ is pronounced in the examples below ‘s’ is in bold and underlined (/s/ or /z/ denotes the phonetics). • The ‘s’ is always pronounced /z/ in comparatives (adjectives and adverbs) and in liaisons: plus âgé que, il n’est plus étonné, plus ou moins, de plus en plus… In the last two, the second ‘s’ is silent if followed by a consonant, /z/ if followed by a vowel. • When it means ‘more’ or ‘plus’ (as in 2 + 2), the ‘s’ is pronounced (/s/): plus que moi, deux plus deux etc, often after que, and often silent elsewhere. Compare: j’en ai plus que lui (I’ve got more than he has), c’est plus qu’il n’en faut (it’s more than enough), and j’ai plus faim que lui (I’m hungrier than he is) – silent ‘s’. • When its meaning is negative (no more, no longer, not… … any more), the ‘s’ is silent (except in liaisons as stated earlier): je n’ai plus faim, je ne le vois plus… Quiz How is the ‘s’ pronounced – silent, /s/ or /z/? Answers above the Millsmot. a) Je n’ai plus d’argent – I’ve got no more money b) Il est plus argenté que moi – He’s better off than I am c) Il a plus d’argent que moi – He’s got more money than I have Moins de or moins que? Before a noun or a quantity, number etc, moins de: j’ai moins de mal que lui (I find it easier than he does), nous serons moins de dix (there’ll be fewer than 10 of us). But note the set phrase moins que rien (next to nothing), and two other useful set phrases: c’est un moins que rien (he/she’s a nobody) and des moins que rien ! (what a useless bunch!). Moins que is used in comparisons: il travaille moins que jamais (he is working less than ever). Do not confuse with the adverb de moins en moins (less and less, fewer and fewer). Au moins or du moins? Meaning ‘at least’, there is a small but noticeable difference in emphasis: Il faisait au moins 70 en ville (he was doing at least 70 in town, meaning ‘at the very least’) Il n’y avait pas de panneau, c’est du moins ce qu’il m’a raconté (there was no sign, at least that’s what he told me). Du moins tends to be used to qualify what one’s just said. Quiz key: a silent, b /z/, c /s/ |
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