Comparatives and Superlatives

The comparative of adjectives and adverbs shows a comparison between two persons or objects.

 John is taller than Mary.
Mary runs faster than John.

The superlative describes the ultimate degree or quality of adjectives and adverbs. 

John is the tallest man in town.Mary runs the fastest of anyone on the team.

  German uses comparatives and superlatives in the same way. But they are formed uniquely. Also remember that comparatives and superlatives can be adjectives. That means they can have adjective endings and must conform to the gender, number, and case of the nouns they modify.

Comparatives

The basic German form of comparative adjectives and adverbs is the attachment of the suffix -er to the adjective or adverb. For example:

positive	comparative
klein	kleiner	smaller
reich	reicher	richer
schnell	schneller	faster

 Some adjectives and adverbs add an umlaut to the vowel in the adjective or adverb when forming the comparative. The following is a list of some of the commonly used adjectives and adverbs that require an umlaut in the comparative form.

positive	comparative
alt	älter	older
arm	ärmer	poorer
dumm	dümmer	more stupid
grob	gröber	coarser
hart	härter	harder
jung	jünger	younger
kalt	kälter	colder
klug	klüger	smarter
krank	kränker	sicker
kurz	kürzer	shorter
lang	länger	longer
schwach	schwächer	weaker
stark	stärker	stronger
warm	wärmer	warmer

Notice that these adjectives and adverbs are one-syllable words.
When a comparative is used as an adjective, it will have an adjective ending except when it is a predicate adjective.

Kennst du den älteren Jungen?	Do you know the older boy?
Mein Bruder ist viel stärker	My brother is a lot stronger.

 When it is an adverb, it will have no ending.

Tina kann schneller laufen.

Tina can run faster.

 

When an adjective or adverb ends in -el, -en, or -er, it drops the final -e- before adding the comparative suffix -er.

positive	comparative
dunkel	dunkler	darker
teuer	teurer	more expensive
trocken	trockner	drier

 A few comparatives have an irregular form. Fortunately, the list is short.

positive	comparative
bald	eher	sooner
groß	größer	bigger
gut	besser	better
hoch	höher	higher
nah	näher	nearer
viel	mehr	more

 

 Remember that hoch is a predicate adjective. When endings are added to hoch, it becomes hoh-. For example:

Er sieht den hohen Turm.

He sees the tall tower.

 German comparatives can be translated in two ways. If the English translation is a short word of Anglo-Saxon origin, its comparative form is a single German word that ends in -er (e.g., schneller = faster). If the English translation is a long word, usually from a foreign source, it cannot be translated by adding the suffix -er to the adjective or adverb. Instead, the adverb more precedes the adjective or adverb (e.g., interessanter = more interesting). Take a look at these examples.

Er ist jünger.	He’s younger.
Der schnellere Zug ist neuer.	The faster train is newer.
Dieses Buch ist interessanter.	This book is more interesting.
Tanja ist intelligenter als Maria.	Tanja is more intelligent than Maria.

 To make a comparison between two people or objects, use als (than).

 

Sie war netter als ihre Schwester.	She was nicer than her sister.
Ist dein Zimmer kälter als meins?	Is your room colder than mine?

But als can also show a contrast between what is anticipated and the real situation. For example:

Der Chef war netter, als ich dachte.	The boss was nicer than I thought.
Seine Rede ist langweiliger, als wir	His speech is more boring than we
erwarteten.	expected.

Another useful expression is je . . . desto. It says that the more one thing occurs, the more another thing occurs. For example: The more I complain, the more she ignores me. The faster he drives, the scarier the situation becomes. Let’s look at some examples in German.

Je größer die Hitze wird, desto stärker wird mein Durst.	The greater the heat becomes, the stronger my thirst gets.
Je kälter die Tage werden, desto mehr	The colder the days get, the more I want
will ich nach dem Süden verreisen.	to travel south.

 

 You will notice that a clause introduced by je places the verb at the end of the clause just as with subordinating clauses. In the second clause, normal word order occurs with the second element being the verb. Sometimes umso replaces desto in sentences like these. For example:

 Je größer die Hitze wird, umso stärker wird mein Durst.

 It is common in English to use the words more and more or two comparatives stated side by side to emphasize a comparison. In German, the adverb immer precedes a comparative to achieve this meaning.

Es wurde immer kälter.	It was getting colder and colder.
Dieser Roman wird immer interessanter.	This novel is getting more and more interesting.

 Superlatives

English superlatives are formed by adding the suffix -est to an adjective or adverb. However, if the adjective or adverb is a longer word, usually from a foreign source, the suffix is not used and the adverb most precedes the adjective or adverb. For example:

tallest	funniest
most fascinating	most flexible

 

 German has only one superlative form. The suffix -st- plus any necessary adjective ending is added to the word. For example:

positive	superlative
klein	kleinste	smallest
reich	reichste	richest
schnell	schnellste	fastest

 If the superlative is used as a predicate adjective, it appears in a prepositional phrase with an.

Mein Vetter ist am kleinsten.	My cousin is the smallest.
Ist dieses Haus am ältesten?	Is this house the oldest one?

 

If the superlative is used as an adjective, it must have adjective endings. If it is used as an adverb, it is formed like a predicate adjective with the preposition an.

Frau Meier hat den schönsten Garten.	Mrs. Meier has the prettiest garden.
Diese Kinder lernen am schnellsten.	These children learn the fastest.

 

As with the comparative, some adjectives and adverbs add an umlaut to the vowel in the adjective or adverb when the superlative is formed. Here is a list of some of the commonly used adjectives and adverbs that require an umlaut in the superlative form.

positive	comparative
alt	am ältesten	oldest
arm	am ärmsten	poorest
dumm	am dümmsten	most stupid
grob	am gröbsten	coarsest
hart	am härtesten	hardest
jung	am jüngsten	youngest
kalt	am kältesten	coldest
klug	am klügsten	smartest
krank	am kränksten	sickest
kurz	am kürzesten	shortest
lang	am längsten	longest
schwach	am schwächsten	weakest
stark	am stärksten	strongest
warm	am wärmsten	warmest

 If adjectives or adverbs end in -d, -t, -s, -ß, or -z, an -e- is added to the superlative suffix. In the previous examples, you will find such words. Here are a few more examples.

positive	superlative
breit	am breitesten	broadest
heiß	am heißesten	hottest
mild	am mildesten	mildest

 A few superlatives have an irregular form.

positive	superlative
bald	am ehesten	soonest
groß	am größten	biggest
gut	am besten	best
hoch	am höchsten	highest
nah	am nächsten	nearest
viel	am meisten	most