Log inSign up

La forêt est dégradée, donc nous devons planter davantage.

La forêt est dégradée, donc nous devons planter davantage.
The forest is degraded, so we must plant more.
From Lesson 419:Comparative quantifiers (davantage de / plus de)·French

Questions & Answers about La forêt est dégradée, donc nous devons planter davantage.

Why did we use davantage instead of plus here?
Both davantage and plus mean "more" and can be used interchangeably here. Davantage is slightly more formal and often preferred at the end of a sentence because it sounds elegant and avoids the tricky pronunciation rules of the word plus.
Could I say planter davantage de instead?
No. You only use davantage de (or plus de) when you are directly specifying what there is more of, followed by a noun (for example, davantage d'arbres for "more trees"). Because "more" here modifies the verb planter and isn't followed by a noun, you must drop the de.
If I chose to say planter plus, would I pronounce the "s" at the end of plus?
Yes! When plus means a positive "more" and comes at the very end of a phrase, you pronounce the "s" (it sounds like "plooss"). This is exactly why many French speakers prefer to use davantage at the end of a sentence—it completely bypasses the mental gymnastics of whether or not to pronounce that "s"!
Why does dégradée have an extra "e" at the end?
Because it functions as an adjective describing La forêt, which is a feminine noun. The past participle dégradé is being used as a pure adjective here with the verb être (to be), so it must agree in gender and number with the subject.

Learn La forêt est dégradée, donc nous devons planter davantage and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →