Pronouncing "Plus"

If you listen to Jean-Marc’s description of Mediterranean beaches versus those in western France and the eastern United States, you might be struck by the way he pronounces the word plus (more):

Les plages sont beaucoup plus petites, avec beaucoup plus de gens.

The beaches are a lot smaller, with a lot more people.

Caption 8, Jean-Marc - La plage - Part 1
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Did you notice that he didn’t pronounce the “s” in the first instance of plus, but did pronounce it in the second? That’s no inconsistency on his part—Jean-Marc is actually obeying the tricky pronunciation rules of this common little adverb.

The general rule of thumb for plus is fairly easy to remember: when it’s used to mean more of something (plus de...), the “s” is pronounced; when it’s used in a negative sense (ne… plus [no more], non plus [neither]), the “s” is not pronounced:

Je ne savais plus qui j'étais.

I didn't know who I was anymore.

Caption 16, Melissa Mars - Mozart, L'opéra rock - Part 1
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Mais toi non plus tu n'as pas changé.

But you, you have not changed either.

Caption 25, Le Journal - Retour sur scène de Julio Iglesias
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This becomes especially important in informal conversation, when a lot of French speakers tend to drop the ne in negative constructions. So if someone says je veux plus de pain and they don’t pronounce the “s,” you can tell that they don’t want any more bread even though they left out the ne. If they do pronounce the “s,” you can pass them the bread basket!

A different rule applies when plus is used comparatively, i.e., when it’s followed by an adjective. In that case, the “s” is usually not pronounced (like when Jean-Marc says plus petites in the first example), unless the adjective begins with a vowel:

Voici celle qui est sans doute la maison la plus illuminée d'Alsace.

Here is what is without a doubt the most illuminated house in Alsace.

Caption 4, Alsace 20 - Alsace: les plus belles déco de Noël!
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If the adjective begins with a vowel, the “s” of plus is pronounced like a “z” to follow the rules of liaison, which you can learn about in our previous lesson on that subject.

The “s” is also pronounced when plus is used at the end of a sentence to mean “more” and when it is used as a noun (le plus):

Du coup, ils ont commencé à être plus proches de moi et à me parler plus.

So they started to be closer to me and to talk to me more.

Caption 35, B-Girl Frak - Limoges
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Qui peut le plus peut le moins.

He who can do more can do less.

So to sum up, here’s a general breakdown of the pronunciation of plus:

The “s” is pronounced:

-in the expression plus de....

-when plus is followed by an adjective beginning with a vowel.

-when plus is at the end of a sentence and means “more.”

-when plus is used as a noun.

The “s” is not pronounced:

-in negative plus constructions (ne… plus, non plus).

-when plus is followed by an adjective beginning with a consonant.

Nous espérons que c'est un peu plus clair maintenant! (We hope that this is a bit clearer now!) Since it’s such a common word, plus appears in quite a large number of Yabla videos—you can find a list of them here. And stay tuned for a lesson on the opposite of plus—moins (less)—coming soon to Yabla.

Thanks to subscriber Felicity S. for suggesting this lesson topic!

Topics Pronunciation