Question 1

Why is there an extra de after de plus en plus?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, de plus en plus (more and more) is describing a noun (grâce). Just like with other expressions of quantity in French (such as beaucoup de), you need to add de before the noun. If you were describing an adjective or adverb, you would just use de plus en plus on its own.

Question 2

Why isn't there an article before grâce? Shouldn't it be de la grâce?

Accepted Answer

After expressions of quantity like de plus en plus de, de moins en moins de, or beaucoup de, the definite article (le, la, les) is dropped. So it becomes de plus en plus de grâce, not de plus en plus de la grâce.

Question 3

How do you pronounce the s in de plus en plus here?

Accepted Answer

The first plus sounds like 'pluz' because you make a liaison (a connecting /z/ sound) with the following vowel in en. The second plus has a silent 's' because it comes right before a consonant (the d in de). So the whole phrase sounds like 'de pluz en plu de grâce'.

Question 4

Could I say this using an adverb instead of a noun?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Instead of saying avec de plus en plus de grâce (with more and more grace), you could use the adverb gracieusement (gracefully). The sentence would then be: Le danseur danse de plus en plus gracieusement. Notice that the final de is dropped because you are no longer modifying a noun.

Le danseur danse avec de plus en plus de grâce.

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