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I came across a curious usage of adverb davantage. It may be more formal but apart from that, does it have anything different from plus?

"Je m'y sentais davantage chez moi que partout ailleurs."

"Je m'y sentais plus chez moi que partout ailleurs."

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  • I’m curious why “y” is needed here, since the verb is “se sentir” and I would think that “chez moi” suffices as a place.
    – tssmith2425
    May 27, 2019 at 7:22
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    @tssmith2425 "Je me sens plus chez moi que partout ailleurs" = "I feel more at home than anywhere else" // "Je m'y sens plus chez moi que partout ailleurs" = "I feel more at home there/here than anywhere else".
    – Teleporting Goat
    May 27, 2019 at 9:36
  • I was wondering where they felt more at home, haha. Thank you, this makes perfect sense!
    – tssmith2425
    May 27, 2019 at 9:49

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I think in this context they are interchangeable. From what I know, “davantage” cannot be used to modify an adjective in comparisons.

Par exemple:

  • Correct: Elle est plus grande que moi
  • Incorrect: Elle est davantage grande que moi.

I believe, though, that they’re interchangeable otherwise. Please note that I’m not a native speaker, but I do feel pretty confident in this answer.

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    You are not a native speaker - and I am - but you can be confident in your answer as far it is a short and clear answer ;-)
    – purerstamp
    May 31, 2019 at 20:58
  • Thank you so much. It makes me feel good to hear native speakers say that I’ve got it right. It’s such a great feeling. :D
    – tssmith2425
    May 31, 2019 at 21:15
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    Haha you're right ! I'm the same in english and it's very pleasant, isn't it ? :D
    – purerstamp
    May 31, 2019 at 21:21
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    Indeed! :) if you ever have any English questions, hopefully I’ll be able to help you in your journey.
    – tssmith2425
    May 31, 2019 at 21:56
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What "tssmith2425" says is perfectly right.

According to Lafaye , Dictionnaire des synonymes de la langue française, p.861 ( https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4VHYFEs2wx8C/page/n495 "plus " and " davantage" differ

(1) slightly, from a semantic point of view : "plus" serves to make an explicit comparison, while "davantage" gives the idea of an implicit comparison ; "plus is precise, davantage is vague".

(2) from a syntactic point of view : "plus" can be associated to the conjunction "que" while "davantage" cannot. One cannot say "tu as davantage de chance que moi", one has to say "tu as plus de chance que moi". "Davantage, says Lafaye, cannot be taken in the relative and developped sense [as if one said incorrectly "davantage ...que"] while plus can be used in both ways (relative, " plus...que") and absolute (without " que").

Note: "davantage" is useful to avoid the inelegant (from a phonetic point of view)

  • "le film m'a plus plu la deuxième fois que je l'ai vu" --> "le film m'a plu davantage quand je l'ai revu / vu pour la seconde fois"

or,

  • "il a beaucoup plu à Paris cette semaine, il a encore plus plu en Normandie" --> " il a plus encore davantage en Normandie"

Note also that "davantage" sounds more formal, literary.

Davantage, in negative sentences, is more polite, to express a refusal for example : "Veuillez m'excuser, pour des raisons de discrétion, je ne puis vous en dire davantage."

From a stylistic point of view, "davantage" seems to make the sentence more complete. Compare "à mesure que tu as plus, tu désires davantage" (attributed to Alexander the Great) to "à mesure que tu as plus, tu désires plus".

Finally, having both "plus" and "davantage" allows to avoid repetitions. See examples in Lafaye.

Conclusion : Il y a beaucoup d'avantages à disposer en français de plus d'un mot pour dire "plus". "Davantage" a de nombreux usages; "plus" en a encore davantage.

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En résumé l'emploi de l'adverbe davantage est plus limité que celui de plus (BDL) ; il est moins polyvalent mais plus étoffé et expressif et souvent préféré à la fin du prédicat (LBU14). Alors que plus peut modifier un verbe, un adverbe ou un adjectif, davantage ne peut normalement modifier qu'un verbe... Cependant, davantage peut modifier le pronom le lorsqu'il reprend un adjectif (La ponctualité est importante, mais la présence l’est davantage ; voir la BDL). Plusieurs auteurs et locuteurs ont cependant déjà employé davantage avec l'adjectif directement dans des comparaisons avec « les circonstances et les moments » (Si nous pouvons constituer un ensemble économique puissant, davantage responsable de sa propre sécurité, Michel Rocard ; voir LBU14 § 983 b). Enfin, l'opposition à davantage que n'est pas et n'a jamais été justifiée (LBU14 § 986 a, BDL, Ac.9 : Il a besoin de repos davantage que de soins.).

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