Plus and moins are core words in French. They express more and less, mark comparison, and help form the superlative. They also act as adverbs, pronouns, and nouns in set phrases.

Basic meaning

• plus = more
• moins = less
• Je veux plus d’eau. “I want more water.”
• Il mange moins de sucre. “He eats less sugar.”

With nouns

Use de after plus and moins before a noun.

• Elle a plus de temps. “She has more time.”
• Nous avons moins d’argent. “We have less money.”
• Ils veulent plus de livres. “They want more books.”

With verbs

Plus and moins act as adverbs. They usually come after the verb.

• Il travaille plus. “He works more.”
• Elle parle moins. “She speaks less.”

In compound tenses, they come after the past participle.

• Il a travaillé plus. “He worked more.”
• Elle a parlé moins. “She spoke less.”

Comparison: more than, less than

Use plus… que and moins… que.

• Il est plus grand que moi. “He is taller than me.”
• Elle est moins rapide que lui. “She is less fast than him.”
• Ce livre est plus intéressant que l’autre. “This book is more interesting than the other.”

With adjectives and adverbs

• Ce film est plus long. “This film is longer.”
• Elle court moins vite. “She runs less fast.”

Superlative: the most, the least

Use le plus and le moins.

• C’est le plus grand bâtiment. “It is the tallest building.”
• C’est le moins cher. “It is the least expensive.”
• Il travaille le plus. “He works the most.”

Agreement:

• la plus belle ville
• les moins chers produits
• C’est la plus belle ville. “It is the most beautiful city.”
• Ce sont les moins chers produits. “They are the least expensive products.”

“No more” and “no longer”

Ne… plus means no more or no longer.

• Je ne veux plus de café. “I no longer want coffee.”
• Il ne travaille plus. “He no longer works.”

Note on speech:

• In careful speech, the final s in plus is often silent here.

Pronunciation of plus

Plus can sound different:

• With a sounded s when it means “more” in many contexts
• With a silent s in ne… plus

This varies with style and region.

Plus and moins used alone

They can stand in for a noun.

• J’en veux plus. “I want more.”
• Elle en a moins. “She has less.”

As nouns

They can act as nouns, often in set phrases.

• Le plus de ce film est la musique. “The best part of this film is the music.”
• Il pèse le pour et le contre, le plus et le moins. “He weighs the pros and cons, the plus and the minus.”

Intensifiers and set phrases

• de plus en plus = more and more
  • Il travaille de plus en plus. “He works more and more.”
• de moins en moins = less and less
  • Elle sort de moins en moins. “She goes out less and less.”
• plus ou moins = more or less
  • C’est plus ou moins vrai. “It is more or less true.”

Words that do not use plus or moins

A few common words replace plus or moins.

Better and best:

• meilleur replaces plus bon
• le meilleur replaces le plus bon
• Ce vin est meilleur. “This wine is better.”
• C’est le meilleur vin. “It is the best wine.”

Worse and worst:

• pire replaces plus mauvais
• le pire replaces le plus mauvais
• Ce résultat est pire. “This result is worse.”
• C’est le pire cas. “It is the worst case.”

Less good and least good can still use moins bon:

• Ce vin est moins bon. “This wine is less good.”

Synonyms and alternatives

For “more”:

• davantage
  • Il travaille davantage. “He works more.”
• encore plus for emphasis
  • Je veux encore plus de temps. “I want even more time.”

For “less”:

• un peu moins
  • Je veux un peu moins de sucre. “I want a bit less sugar.”
• moins encore for emphasis
  • Il travaille moins encore. “He works even less.”

For “a lot more”:

• beaucoup plus
  • Elle gagne beaucoup plus. “She earns much more.”

For “much less”:

• beaucoup moins
  • Il dépense beaucoup moins. “He spends much less.”

Summary

• plus means more, moins means less.
• Use de before nouns.
• Use plus… que and moins… que for comparison.
• Use le plus and le moins for the superlative.
• ne… plus means no more or no longer.
• Some words replace plus, such as meilleur and pire.
• Many set phrases build on plus and moins.