Do you see the difference in grammatical terms?
If not, don’t worry. There are many exercises in this article 🙂
However, we need to look at it from a grammatical perspective. Why?
Because the English translation is “better” for both versions.
Before beginning, let’s quickly look at the definition of an adjective and an adverb:
Adjective: Describes the noun. For instance:
- Une voiture (noun) rapide (adjective)
- Une petite (adjective) maison (noun)
Adverb (We’ll simplify the definition of an adverb to make it easier for us.):
In the context of choosing between mieux and meilleur, the adverb will modify a verb. For instance:
- Il joue (verb) bien (adverb)
- Elle joue (verb) mal (adverb)
It’s a rule of thumb, but it will help us get started 🙂
Exercises – Better (Comparative)
Comment:
Do you remember the picture in the beginning of this article?
In this example, we need an adverb to modify a verb (parler).
Mieux refers to the verb parler.
You could also ask yourself:
- Do you speak good or well?
The correct version is: Speak well.
Conclusion,
- Mieux is connected to bien
- Meilleur is connected to bon/bonne
Comment:
We need an adjective to compare the noun avenir (future).
We are no longer referring to a verb.
Thus, we’ll choose meilleur.
Comment:
We need an adjective to compare the noun ami.
We are not referring to the verb of the sentence “deserve”.
When we need an adjective, we’ll choose meilleur.
Comment:
Ok, what are we referring to this time? 🙂
“Un treatement”
Thus, like in the previous example, we’ll pick meilleur.
Comment:
There are no adjectives in this article.
The sentence only contains verbs and pronouns.
Therefore, we’ll pick mieux.
Comment:Â
This sentence is similar to the previous one.
We are linking something to connais (a verb).
With this information, I think you can figure out the answer :-).
Comment:
In this exercise, we are referring to “se sentir”.
It’s a reflexive verb, but still a verb :-).
The right answer is “mieux”.
Comment:
Do you remember the picture in the beginning of the article?
Meilleur has 4 different versions:
- Meilleur – Masculine singular
- Meilleure – Feminine singular
- Meilleurs – Masculine plural
- Meilleures – Feminine plural
This exercise wants you to choose between them.
In this exercise, we can begin by concluding that only 2 of them will be relevent for us. Why?
Because we are referring to “une vie”, that is, a noun in the singular form.
It’s also in the feminine form “une”.
Thus, the answer will be meilleure.
Note: Mieux has only one form. We only have to differentiate between the different versions of meilleur.
Comment:
This exercise focuses on the same problem as the previous one.
We need to look at the gender of the noun.
In this case, it’s clearly a masculine one (un).
I think you know the answer :-).
Comment:
Ok, the options are in the plural form.
But is solution a masculine- or a feminine noun?
The context does not give us any information, which is often the case in French.
Therefore, you should always learn the gender of every word.
Solution is a feminine noun – La solution.
Thus, the answer is meilleures.
Comment:
In this example, les crevettes comes right after the verb conjugation “ils sont”.
One could think that the right answer will be mieux.
However, we need to think about what the sentence is referring too.
In the first sentence, we clearly mention that we like these shrimps.
We are referring to them again when we say that they are the best.
So, we’ll choose meilleurs, even if it comes directly after a verb.
Superlative – The best
Can we use the same rules to say that something is the best?
More or less. I will highlight some details in the exercises.
Also, it should be noted that meilleur is (much) more common than mieux when referring to something as the best.
For instance, you can type in the following two phrases in Google:
- Le mieux
- Le meilleur
There are twice as many results for le meilleur. (This is not an exact science, but it gives you a hint)
Thus, we’ll focus more on meilleur as our superlative.
Comment:
In this example, we can apply the same rules as before.
We are looking to link un ami to something.
Un ami is a noun in the masculine form.
Thus, the answer is meilleur.
Comment:
This exercise follows the same pattern as the previous one.
We want to link something to activité.
I think you know the answer :-).
I want to highlight (again) the importance of knowing the gender of every word.
Both alternatives include la for this particular exercise.
However, it would not have been as easy with the alternatives le/la meilleur(e).
Comment:
We want to link meilleurs or meilleures to Ă©quipes (teams).
It’s once again a question of deciding between the masculine (plural) and the feminine (plural) version.
Équipe is a feminine noun – la Ă©quipe.
Thus, the answer will be meilleures.
Comment:
We are referring to se sentir – to feel.Â
It’s a reflexive verb.
In this case, we’ll use le mieux.
Comment:
This is a short and simple sentence.
It includes a verb (fonctionner) and a noun (une méthode).
We’ll with go la meilleure. There is a verb that precedes the gap, and there is no adjective behind it.
Conclusion
Does this article cover everything you need to know?
No, but it gives you the necessary tools to pick the right version.
This explanation helped me identify the difference.
I have since discovered some anomalies. You should not worry about them for now if you are just starting to understand the difference.
However, I want to quickly mention something that can be relevant when choosing between mieux and meilleur:
An adverb can also be related to an adjective or another adverb.
We have simplified the definition of an adverb to make the article more comprehensible.
I will expand this article in a month or two.
Please leave a comment if you still find it difficult. You are also more than welcome to leave a comment if you have noticed a mistake in the article.
I read my articles several times, but sometimes I make mistakes, like all humans :-).
