Nuts & Bolts of German (Explanations): Comparative & Superlative (A2)

The comparative and the superlative forms of an adjective are used when making comparisons, e.g. something is smaller/longer/more expensive etc. than something else (-> comparative) or something is the smallest/the longest/the most expensive etc. (-> superlative)

 

For the comparative you add -er, for the superlative -st- to the basic form of  the  adjective, regardless of its length,  e.g.

 

klein (small)

kleiner (smaller)

kleinst- (the smallest)
schön (nice) schöner (nicer)

schönst- (the nicest)
langweilig (boring) langweiliger (more boring) langweiligst- (the most boring)
unfreundlich (unfriendly) unfreundlicher  (more unfriendly) unfreundlichst- (the most unfriendly)

 

 

When the comparatives or superlatives are used before a noun they have to add the appropriate adjective ending, e.g.

 

Hast du keinen kleineren Koffer? (Don’t you have a smaller suitcase?)

 

Das ist mein kleinster Koffer. (This is my smallest suitcase.)

 

Ist das der kleinste Koffer? (Is this the smallest suitcase?)

 

Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand,

wer ist die Schönste im ganzen Land?

 

 

Irregularities:

  • Some short adjectives also add an umlaut. Common ones are:

  alt (old) älter ältest-  
  arm (poor) ärmer   ärmst-  
  hart (hard) härter    härtest-  
  kalt (cold)  kälter  kältest-  
  krank (ill, sick) kränker kränkst-  
  lang (long)  länger   längst-  
  schwach (weak) schwächer schwächst-  
  stark (strong)  stärker  stärkst-  
  warm (warm)    wärmer   wärmst-  
         
  dumm (stupid) dümmer dümmst-  
  gesund (healthy) gesünder gesündest-  
  jung (joung) jünger jüngst-  
  kurz (short) kürzer kürzest-  

 

  • Adjectives ending in –d (but not –end), -t, ß, -z or -sch (but not –isch) need an extra “e” before the “st-” in the superlative form to make pronunciation easier; try to pronounce these forms without the extra “e” and you will know why.
  gesund (healthy) gesündest-  
  alt (old) ältest-  
  heiß (hot) heißest-  
  kurz (short) kürzest-  
  hübsch (pretty) hübschest-  

 

  • Adjectives that end in -el or -er drop the “e” of that ending in the comparative but not in the superlative, e.g.

 

  dunkel (dark) dunkler dunkelst-  
  teuer (expensive) teurer teuerst-  

 

  • Adjectives that end in –e only add an –r in the comparative, e.g.

  leise (quiet) leiser leisest-  
  weise (wise) weiser weisest-  

 

  •  Some adjectives have irregular forms:

 

  groß (big, tall) größer (bigger, taller) größt- (the biggest, the tallest)    
  gut (good)    besser  (better) best- (the best)  
  hoch (high)  höher (higher) höchst- (the highest)  
  nah (close) näher (closer) nächste- (the closest, the next)  
  viel (much) mehr (more meist- (the most)  
  viele (many) mehr* (more) meist- (the most)  
  wenig (a little, a bit of) weniger* (less) wenigst- (the least)  
  wenige (a few) weniger* (less) wenigst- (the least number of)  

* "mehr” and “weniger” do not take adjective endings, e.g.

Ich habe jetzt weniger Zeit. (Now I have less time.)

Ich habe jetzt mehr Zeit. (Now I have more time.)

 

  • “meist-“ requires a definite article in situations where the English equivalent “most” does not, e.g.

die meisten Leute (most of the people)

 

  • The comparative of adverbs is formed the same way as that of adjectives. The superlative of adverbs has the word “am” in front of it and the ending is –(e)sten, e.g.

Sie arbeitet hart. (She is working hard.)

Er arbeitet härter. (He is working harder.)

Wir arbeiten am härtesten. (We are working the hardest.)

           

Der Bus fährt schnell. (The bus is moving quickly.)

Das Auto fährt schneller. (The car is moving more quickly.)

Der Zug fährt am schnellsten. (The train is moving the quickest.)

 

Er verdient viel. (He earns a lot.)

Sie verdient mehr. (She earns more.)

Du verdienst am meisten. (You earn the most.)

           

  •  The comparative and the superlative of the adverb “gern(e)”:

gern -> lieber -> am liebsten

Ich esse gern Vanilleeis. (I like eating vanilla ice cream.)

Ich esse lieber Erdbeereis. (I prefer eating strawberry ice cream.)

Schokoladeneis esse ich am liebsten. (I like chocolate ice cream the best.)

 

 

 

Ways of making a comparison:

 

Das ist ein teureres T-Shirt. (This is a more expensive t-shirt.)

Das T-Shirt ist teurer als das Hemd. (The t-shirt is more expensive than the shirt.)

Das T-Shirt ist (genau)so teuer wie das Hemd.  (The t-shirt is (just) as expensive as the shirt.)                                            

Das T-Shirt ist nicht so teuer wie das Hemd. (The t-shirt is not as expensive as the shirt.)

Das T-Shirt ist fast so teuer wie das Hemd. (The t-shirt is nearly as expensive as the shirt.)                                                                                                                    

Öl wird immer teurer. (Oil is getting more and more expensive.)

image:

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