Learn French: Cette manette est moins pratique que celle-là. - This controller is less practical than that one.

Cette manette est moins pratique que celle-là.

This controller is less practical than that one.

Breakdown of Cette manette est moins pratique que celle-là.

Questions & Answers about Cette manette est moins pratique que celle-là.

How do we form the "less ... than" comparison in this sentence?

You sandwich the adjective between moins (less) and que (than). Here, the adjective is pratique (practical), so we get moins pratique que. If you wanted to say "more practical than", you would use plus pratique que.

Why use celle-là at the end? Couldn't I just say cette again?

You cannot use cette by itself because it is a descriptive word that must always be attached to a noun (like cette manette for "this controller"). To stand in for the noun and say "that one", you need a pronoun. Since manette is feminine, we use the feminine pronoun celle-là.

What does the -là part of celle-là mean?

The suffix -là generally means "there", so celle-là literally translates to "that one there". If you were comparing it to a controller right next to you, you might use the suffix -ci (here) to say celle-ci (this one here).

How would this sentence change if we were comparing a masculine object, like a computer (un ordinateur)?