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Kapitel 19

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

Komparativ und Superlativ

📚 Introduction

When you compare things, you can state that some are smaller, bigger, cheaper, more expensive etc. (comparative) or that one is the smallest, the biggest etc. (superlative).

In German, comparison is more straightforward than English - regardless of how long the adjective is, the rules are consistent!

📊 The Comparative

Formation: Adding -er

Most adjectives simply add -er in the comparative:

Basic Form Comparative Example
billig (cheap) billiger Dieser Laptop ist billiger.
interessant (interesting) interessanter London ist viel interessanter als Paris.
klein (small) kleiner Das Haus ist kleiner.
schnell (fast) schneller Das Auto fÀhrt schneller.

Umlaut + -er (a, o, u stems)

Most monosyllabic adjectives with stem vowels a, o, or u also add an umlaut:

Basic Form Comparative Meaning
alt Àlter older
arm Àrmer poorer
jung jĂŒnger younger
groß grĂ¶ĂŸer bigger, taller
kalt kÀlter colder
lang lÀnger longer
stark stÀrker stronger
warm wÀrmer warmer

Berlin ist grĂ¶ĂŸer als MĂŒnchen.

Berlin is bigger than Munich.

Note: Short adjectives which do not take an umlaut include: flach (flat) → flacher and rund (round) → runder.

⚠ Special Cases

Adjectives ending in -er, -el

To make pronunciation easier, adjectives ending in -er and -el drop the e in the comparative:

Basic Form Comparative Meaning
teuer teurer (not teuerer) more expensive
dunkel dunkler (not dunkeler) darker
hÀsslich hÀsslicher uglier
langweilig langweiliger more boring

Irregular Forms

Basic Form Comparative Meaning
gut besser better
viel mehr more
hoch höher higher

How to say "than"

The German equivalent of than is als:

Berlin ist grĂ¶ĂŸer als MĂŒnchen.

Berlin is bigger than Munich.

Der Rhein ist lÀnger als die Themse.

The Rhine is longer than the Thames.

🏆 The Superlative

Formation: Adding -sten with "am"

The superlative is formed by adding -sten to the adjective. In addition, it is preceded by the word am.

Basic Form Superlative Example
billig am billigsten Dieser Laptop ist am billigsten.
klein am kleinsten Das Haus ist am kleinsten.
schnell am schnellsten Das Auto fÀhrt am schnellsten.

Umlaut + -sten (a, o, u stems)

As in the comparative form, most monosyllabic adjectives with stem vowels a, o, u add an umlaut:

Basic Form Superlative Meaning
jung am jĂŒngsten youngest
groß am grĂ¶ĂŸten biggest, tallest
lang am lÀngsten longest
warm am wÀrmsten warmest
kalt am kÀltesten coldest
kurz am kĂŒrzesten shortest
hoch am höchsten highest

⚠ Special Cases

Adjectives ending in -er, -el

Adjectives ending in -er and -el which drop the e in the comparative "retake" it in the superlative:

Basic Form Comparative Superlative Meaning
teuer teurer am teuersten most expensive
dunkel dunkler am dunkelsten darkest

Adjectives ending in -d, -t, -s, -z

To make pronunciation easier, adjectives ending in -d, -t, -s, -z in the basic form of the superlative usually add an extra e before -sten:

Basic Form Superlative Meaning
kalt am kÀltesten coldest
kurz am kĂŒrzesten shortest

Irregular Forms

Basic Form Superlative Meaning
gut am besten best
viel am meisten most

🎯 Adverbs in German

Adjectives vs. Adverbs

While adjectives provide more information about nouns, adverbs describe activity by giving additional information about verbs:

Type German English
Adjective Er ist schön. He is beautiful.
Adverb Sie tanzt sehr schön. She dances beautifully.

In English, adverbs often have a different form from adjectives – in most cases you add "-ly" ("beautiful" → "beautifully"). In German, most adverbs have the same form as adjectives.

Comparative and Superlative of Adverbs

The comparative and superlative of adverbs works in exactly the same way and follows all the rules described above for adjectives:

Meine Tante fÀhrt langsam.

My aunt drives slowly.

Mein Onkel fÀhrt langsamer.

My uncle drives more slowly.

Mein Vater fÀhrt am langsamsten.

My father drives most slowly.

Karl singt schlecht.

Karl sings badly.

Thomas singt schlechter.

Thomas sings worse.

Bernd singt am schlechtesten.

Bernd sings the worst.

Using "gern"

To express what you prefer doing and what you like best of all, it is important to know the comparative and superlative form of the adverb gern, which is quite irregular:

Form German English
Basic Ich trinke gern Wasser. I like drinking water.
Comparative Ich trinke lieber Kaffee. I prefer drinking coffee.
Superlative Ich trinke am liebsten Bier. I like drinking beer best of all.

Bernd liest viel.

Bernd reads a lot.

Frauke liest mehr.

Frauke reads more.

Jörg liest am meisten.

Jörg reads the most.

📋 Quick Reference: All Forms

Basic Form Comparative Superlative Meaning
klein kleiner am kleinsten small → smaller → smallest
langweilig langweiliger am langweiligsten boring → more boring → most boring
alt Ă€lter am Ă€ltesten old → older → oldest
groß grĂ¶ĂŸer am grĂ¶ĂŸten big → bigger → biggest
hoch höher am höchsten high → higher → highest
gut besser am besten good → better → best
gern lieber am liebsten gladly → prefer → like best
viel mehr am meisten much → more → most
teuer teurer am teuersten expensive → more expensive → most expensive
dunkel dunkler am dunkelsten dark → darker → darkest

Exercise 19.1

19.1

Fill in the missing forms of the adjectives or adverbs below. The first one has been done for you.

Basic Form Comparative Superlative
klein kleiner am kleinsten
langweilig
alt
groß
hoch am höchsten
gut
gern
viel mehr

Exercise 19.2

19.2

Put these adjectives in the comparative and superlative, following the example.

Example: warm → im FrĂŒhling / im Herbst / im Sommer

→ Im FrĂŒhling ist es warm. Im Herbst ist es wĂ€rmer. Aber im Sommer ist es am wĂ€rmsten.

1. lang → die Donau / die Elbe / der Rhein

2. groß → MĂŒnchen / Hamburg / Berlin

3. laut → Jazz / Rock / Techno

4. alt → Carsten / Theo / Franz

5. flach → Nordrhein-Westfalen / Niedersachsen / Schleswig-Holstein

6. weit → Großbritannien / Nigeria / Australien

7. teuer → das Buch / die CD / das Parfum

8. hoch → der Brocken / der Watzmann / die Zugspitze (mountains)

9. gut → Wandern / Joggen / Faulenzen

10. kompliziert → Portugiesisch / Ungarisch / Chinesisch

11. langweilig → Peter / Michael / Bernd

12. interessant → London / Paris / New York

Exercise 19.3

19.3

Make comparisons by following the example.

Example: Pavarotti singt gut. – Carreras / Placido Domingo

→ Pavarotti singt gut. Carreras singt besser, aber Placido Domingo singt am besten.

1. Ich trinke gern Tee. – Kaffee / Wein

2. Salat schmeckt gut. – Pasta / Pizza

3. Der Ford fĂ€hrt schnell. – der BMW / der Ferrari

4. Clara spricht klar. – Gerd / Anna

5. Susanne treibt viel Sport. – Nele / Anke

Exercise 19.4

19.4

Translate the following sentences into German:

1. London is bigger than Paris.

2. The Rhine is longer than the Danube.

3. Jens is older than Susan.

4. Boris is more intelligent than Claus.

5. Gabriella is most intelligent.

6. The aeroplane is more expensive than the train.

7. Ralf drives more slowly than Michael.

8. The book is better than the film.

✓ Checklist

  • How is the comparative formed? (Add -er to the basic form)
  • How is the superlative formed? (Add -sten and use "am" before it)
  • Is there a special form for the comparative or superlative of long adjectives or adverbs? (No - German is consistent regardless of length!)
  • When is there often a change in the stem of the adjective or adverb? (Most monosyllabic adjectives with a, o, u add an umlaut)
  • What changes are introduced to make pronunciation easier? (-er/-el drop e in comparative; -d/-t/-s/-z add e before -sten)

← From Previous (e18)

Building on: Negatives - You learned how to negate sentences using "nicht" and "kein". Now you can make negative comparisons too, like "nicht grĂ¶ĂŸer als" (not bigger than)!

→ Coming Next (e20)

Prepare for: Modal Verbs - Learn how to express ability, permission, obligation and possibility with verbs like können, mĂŒssen, dĂŒrfen, and sollen.

Progress
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