Could you pls tell me the difference between beaucoup/plein/trop de?
They seem to be the same (of course from my view) ?
Thanks
Ball
Hello,
beaucoup = a lot
plein = full
trop de = too much of
Examples:
- il y avait beaucoup de monde = there were a lot of people
- c'était plein de monde = it was full of people
- il y avait trop de monde = there were too many people
I think he/she was asking about plein used as an adverb, which is far less formal than beaucoup and trop de . We use it to say "a lot", sometimes in a slightly negative way.
J'ai bu plein de bières hier, je ne me sens pas spécialement frais aujourd'hui.
Les enfants ont mangé comme des cochons, ils ont laissé plein de restes partout en plus !
Hope that helps.
Plein comme un oeuf - full to the brim
Plein means more than beaucoup - prends encore des pommes/de la glace, il y en a plein (meaning, many, and more than enough but not too much if all possible uses are considered).
Also, plein means beaucoup for quantities that cannot be adequately measured - plein de problèmes, plein d'espoir.
Fascinating.
My mother tongue is french and I couldn't explained it better!
trop means also too much ; which is one of the reasons the French natives make the mistakes between the too adverbs too many/too much in English Also, trop has a negative connotation whereas if you use plein, it's more neutral.
You want to learn a good saying?
Tous les trop sont de trop .
I'll let you figure out what it means, hopefully that shouldn't be too hard.
You are going to look super smart if you manage to say that naturally in a conversation, especially if you have a thick accent but speak well.