Why is it “mieux”?

Kat U.B2Kwiziq community member

Why is it “mieux”?

Hi,  my kwizbot it is telling my that in this example,”Cette maison est bien. - Oui, elle est ________ l'autre.” 

the correct answe is “mieux.” Why? Doesn’t mieux modify a verb? Here were modifying a noun (maison), so it should be “meilleur” by all logic, so why is the correct answer “mieux”? 

Asked 1 week ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Kat, 

Taken from the lesson -

"Mieux is the comparative form of the adverb bien"

So it was pretty straight forward -

Cette maison est bien, oui elle est mieux que l'autre 

bon ----> meilleur

bien ----> mieux

The problem arises when you just want to say better in French and you don't know if 'bien' or 'bon' is implied.

Hope this helps!

 

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour Kat,

This aspect of French grammar is quite tricky. I suggest that you have a look at the following link. It will give you a comprehensive overview and provide you with some further support to augment the excellent lesson that you have quoted.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/meilleur-vs-mieux/

Bonne continuation 

Jim

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Kat, 

the simple answer here is that when ‘ bien ‘ is used, ‘ mieux ‘ is the comparator to use. 

Meilleur/e is the comparator corresponding to ‘ bon/ne ‘. 

( If there are exceptions to this, I haven’t encountered them or seen them discussed anywhere ).

As to why this is ‘ être bien ‘, which is correct and referring effectively to the ‘ state of ( being) of the house’,  that is more complex to explain.

Have a look at the links below to start to delve more deeply :

 Meilleur, mieux, pire / plus mauvais, plus mal = better, best, worse and worst in French (irregular comparatives and superlatives) 

 https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/bien/9151#difficulte

 https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/bon/10103#difficulte

 https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/bon-vs-bien/

 https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/meilleur-vs-mieux/

Why is it “mieux”?

Hi,  my kwizbot it is telling my that in this example,”Cette maison est bien. - Oui, elle est ________ l'autre.” 

the correct answe is “mieux.” Why? Doesn’t mieux modify a verb? Here were modifying a noun (maison), so it should be “meilleur” by all logic, so why is the correct answer “mieux”? 

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