KOMPARATIV
The Comparative of Adjectives
Explanation
Let's look at the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of groß (big).
groß - big
größer - bigger
am größten - the biggest
So... wie (As... as)
The positive form is simply the basic form you use to describe something, and it's
also used in so…wie… (as…as…), just like in English.
The Comparative
The comparative compares persons or things, like the –er or more forms in
English. The connective als is used where English uses than.
Comparatives with Umlaut
Many one-syllable adjectives and adverbs with the stem-vowels a, o, or u add an
umlaut in the comparative. See the second table below for some examples.
Comparatives with Agreement
If a comparative adjective comes right before the noun, its ending changes
depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun.
Example
Das Hemd ist größer als die anderen.
This shirt is bigger than the others.
Das T-Shirt ist so teuer wie der Anzug.
The T-shirt is as expensive as the suit.
Meine Schuhe sind größer als deine Schuhe.
My shoes are bigger than your shoes.
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Wir können uns die teureren Schuhe nicht leisten.
We can't afford the more expensive shoes.
Lass uns doch die grüneren Bananen kaufen.
Let's buy the greener bananas.
Das blaue Kleid gefällt mir besser.
I like the blue dress better.
Common mistakes
Adding "mehr" to the adjective does not make it a comparative like it does in
English
Dieser Film ist mehr interessant-FALSCH!.
Dieser Film ist interessanter. – Richtig This movie is more interesting.
Additionally
schön (beautiful) schöner (more beautiful)
klein (small) kleiner (smaller)
teuer (expe teurer (more expensive)
billig (cheap) billiger (cheaper)
frisch (fresh) frischer (fresher)
grün (green) grüner (greener)
spät (late) später (later)
früh (early) früher (earlier)
groß (big) größer (bigger)
stark (strong) stärker (stronger)
warm (warm) wärmer (warmer)
kalt (cold) kälter (colder)
jung (young) jünger (younger)
alt (old) älter (older)
lang (long) länger (longer)
kurz (short) kürzer (shorter)
gut (good) besser (b
viel (a lot, much) mehr (mo
gern (like, gladly) lieber (ra
hoch (high) höher (hi
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THE SUPERLATIVE FORM OF
ADJECTIVES
Just like the comparative of all regular and some irregular adjectives, their
superlative forms could either be with or without modification but nevertheless
take on the suffix –sten which could sometimes be preceded by an “e” and rather
becomes –esten depending on the end letter such as t, d, s, z and ß on the tail-end
of the basic form with an exemption of groß. This can be likened to the Addition of
“est” or the use of “most” with the basic form in English.
The superlative form of adjectives in German regular and irregular
adjectives always go with the preposition “am” in the unused or un-declined form
which is not literally translated in English even when used to complement a verb.
This preposition usually remains when it shows preferences but omitted when the
adjective is supposedly used as a noun or to describe a personality. The
Comparative & Superlative Form of Regular Adjectives
The comparative and superlative forms of regular and irregular adjectives do not
undergo any change in vowels or form at all. They remain the same as their basics
in addition to their comparative and superlative suffixes
of er and (e)sten respectively. Some examples can be seen in the list below.
List of Comparative & Superlative Regular Adjectives in German
Simple form Comparative form Superlative form English translation
schöne schöner am schönsten pretty, prettier, prettiest
tief tiefer am tiefsten deep,deeper,deepest
klein kleiner am kleinsten small, smaller, smallest
frisch frischer am frischsten fresh, fresher, freshest
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Simple form Comparative form Superlative form English translation
nett netter am nettesten nice, nicer, nicest
reich reicher am reichsten rich, richer, richest
intelligent intelligenter am intelligentesten intelligent, more intelligent, most in
langsam langsamer am langsamsten slow, slower, slowest
dunkel dunkler am dunkelsten dark, darker, darkest
hell heller am hellsten bright, brighter, brightest
grün grüner am grünsten green, greener, greenest
weiß weißer am weißesten white, whiter, whitest
heiß heißer am heißesten hot, hotter, hottest
nass nasser am nassesten wet, wetter, wettest
trocken trockener am trockensten dry, drier, driest
neu neuer am neuesten new, newer, newest
wichtig wichtiger am wichtigsten important, more important, most imp
schnell schneller am schnellsten quick, quicker, quickest
Comparative and superlative form of regular adjectives in german
Note: all ordinal numbers are equally regular adjectives and have neither a
comparative form nor a superlative.
The Comparative & Superlative Form of Irregular Adjectives
Irregular adjectives sometimes follow the pattern of regular adjectives with regards
to the end suffixes in the comparative and superlative forms except that they either
change stem vowels or their entire form to a complete variant. These changes in
vowels only occur within one-syllabic adjectives with “a, o and u” which changes
to the umlaut variant “ä, ö and ü” respectively.
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In addition to the changed vowels of one-syllabic adjective, those with “h” and
“ch” directly after their vowels either gain a “c” or lose a “c” in their superlative
and comparative forms respectively. For example “nah” becomes am nächsten in
the superlative while “hoch” becomes höher in the comparative form. See the lists
of comparative and superlative irregular adjectives below.
List of Comparative & Superlative Irregular Adjectives in German
Simple
Comparative Superlative English translation
forms
kurz kürzer am kürzesten short, shorter, shortest
dumm dümmer am dümmsten ignorant, more ignorant, Most ign
groß größer am größten big, bigger, biggest
alt älter am ältesten old, older, oldest
warm wärmer am wärmsten warm, warmer, warmest
arm ärmer am ärmsten poor, poorer, poorest
kalt kälter am kältesten cold, colder, coldest
hoch höher am höchsten high, higher, highest
gut besser am besten good, better, best
viel mehr am meisten much, more, most
bald eher am ehesten soon, sooner, soonest
klug klüger am klügsten clever, cleverer, cleverest
preferably, more preferably, most
gern lieber am liebsten
preferable
lang länger am längsten long, longer, longest
hart härter am härtesten hard, harder, hardest
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Simple
Comparative Superlative English translation
forms
scharf schärfer am schärfsten sharp, sharper, sharpest
nah näher am nächsten near, nearer, nearest
stark stärker am stärksten strong, stronger, strongest
am wenigsten/ am
wenig weniger few, less, least
mindesten
UBUNG: FILL IN THE CORRECT KOMPARATIV ND SUPERLATIV!
1.) langsam - - am
2.) traurig - - am
3.) lustig - - am
4.) schwer - - am
5.) einfach - - am
6.) schmal - - am
7.) schön - - am
8.) breit - - am
9.) billig - - am
10.) gut - - am
11.) tief - - am
12.) schnell - - am
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13.) leicht - - am
14.) klein - - am
15.) schlecht – - am
16.) teuer - - am
17.) lang - - am
18.) jung - - am
19.) alt - - am
20.) hoch - - am
21.) stark - - am
22.) kurz - - am
23.) groß - - am
24.) schwach - - am
