le plus long
The English phrase "the longest" is translated into French as le plus long.
In a colloquial context, you might hear the phrase Le truc le plus long du monde to mean "the longest thing in the world".
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, le plus long is constructed as "the most long" (le = the, plus = more/most, long = long).
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Use la plus longue for feminine nouns, les plus longs for masculine plural nouns and les plus longues for feminine plural nouns.
Did you know?
- In French, describing a wait as le plus long often implies a feeling of impatience rather than just a measurement of time.
- Even though it looks like the English 'long', the French word long is also the root for the word 'chaise longue' used in English furniture descriptions.
- The masculine article le in this phrase actually evolved from the Latin 'illum', which originally functioned as a demonstrative meaning 'that one'.
Examples in context
- Le majeur est le plus long doigt.The middle finger is the longest.This sentence uses le plus long to describe a finger.Tatoeba #801682 by sacredceltic, translation #715802 by darinmex
- Quel est le mot allemand le plus long ?What's the longest German word?This sentence uses le plus long to ask about a German word.Tatoeba #7716399 by Katastrauff, translation #2494084 by Hybrid
- Le jour le plus long doit avoir une fin.The longest day must have an end.This sentence uses le plus long to refer to a day.Tatoeba #7499222 by tras, translation #36709 by RoyalBee
- Le fleuve le plus longThe longest river
- Le film le plus longThe longest movie
- Les vacances les plus longuesThe longest holiday
- La randonnée la plus longueThe longest hike
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Gabriel are discussing a movie they just watched.
- EmmaCe film était vraiment trop long.This movie was really too long.
- GabrielOui, c'est le plus long de la saga.Yes, it is the longest of the saga.
- EmmaJe me suis presque endormie à la fin.I almost fell asleep at the end.
- GabrielMoi aussi, c'était interminable.Me too, it was endless.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries le, long, plus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
