de moins en moins vs de moins en moins de, and de plus en plus vs de plus en plus de

C. M.A1Kwiziq community member

de moins en moins vs de moins en moins de, and de plus en plus vs de plus en plus de

I've been wondering if there are definite rules as to whether one adds a "de" sometimes, but sometimes I go awry with an incorrect guess. At present it seems to me that a noun after the second "de" is safe enough. Am I right? The help from the quick lessons is immensely helpful, but thus far I haven't found one which would solve my problem with rules for the 'De's'.

Clive 

Asked 1 year ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Your hunch is correct: you need the additional de when you're speaking of some "stuff" (noun). Without de it is about a property (adjective).

Il y a de moins en moins de lait dans lefrigo. -- There is less and less milk in the fridge.
Il fait de plus en plus chaud. -- It's getting hotter and hotter.

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Always 'de moins/plus en moins/plus de NOUN'. 

Note that the nominal expression 'De moins(plus) en moins(plus) de NOUN' can be placed at the start of a sentence. (Example in lesson) 

This is effectively an expression of 'quantity of something' and uses 'de..' as do other expressions of quantity - eg beaucoup de NOUN, trop de NOUN, la plupart de NOUN.

When followed by adjectives or adverbs it is ' de moins(plus) en moins(plus) ...ADVERB/ADJECTIVE' . 

A different word order with verb comparison - the verb precedes the comparative phrase to become ' VERB ..... de moins/plus en moins/plus. ' 

Note that ' de moins/plus en moins/plus .. ' cannot be placed directly at the start of a sentence (Attention point in lesson)

The lesson below is linked in the lesson you have referred to - combined, they cover the 'rules' :

 De plus en plus / De moins en moins + [adverbe/adjectif/verbe] = more and more / less and less + [adverb/adjective/verb] (Comparisons in French)

C. M. asked:View original

de moins en moins vs de moins en moins de, and de plus en plus vs de plus en plus de

I've been wondering if there are definite rules as to whether one adds a "de" sometimes, but sometimes I go awry with an incorrect guess. At present it seems to me that a noun after the second "de" is safe enough. Am I right? The help from the quick lessons is immensely helpful, but thus far I haven't found one which would solve my problem with rules for the 'De's'.

Clive 

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Thinking...