ABSTRACT
The comparative constructions of French, unlike Spanish, do not display marked differences in structure: the comparatives of inequality and the comparative of equality share the same clause introducer or 'comparative particle' que and enter into similar syntactic configurations. This may provide an explanation for the fact that studies of comparison in French, e.g. Moignet (1970), Milner (1978), Pinkham (1982) and Muller (1983), rarely refer to the equative construction. However, as has already been stated, studies of comparison in general tend to treat only the comparatives of inequality and often restrict themselves to a consideration of the comparative of superiority. This is particularly true of studies of the French construction, a fact noted by De Boer (1954: 172), who quotes Brunot:
SitOt qu'on a Ote les oeilleres que la tradition nous impose, que de decouvertes! . . . plus grand, plus petit sont des comparatifs de superiorite. N'y a-t-il donc pas de comparatifs d'inferiorite: mains grand? Et les comparatifs d'egalite? Pourquoi sont-ils a peu pres escamotes? Sans doute parce qu'ils ne jouent qu'un rOle efface. En effet! lIs contiennent seulement toutes les equitations des sciences. Quantite negligeable! Seulement ils n'avaient pas de formes speciales en Latin!
