8.4.1.1: Komparativ und Superlativ Adjectives
- Page ID
- 108490
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Expressing similarities and differences
Similarities
When comparing two or more people, things, places, etc., you can express that they are the same by using the expressions so ... wie ..., genauso ... wie..., or nicht so ... wie ... and the basic forms of adjectives.
| Die Hexe ist genauso böse wie die Königin. | The witch is just as evil as the queen. |
| Und sogar der Frosch ist nicht so hässlich wie sie! | And even the frog is not as ugly as she is! |
| Und sie ist so alt wie ein Stein! | And she is as old as the rocks! |
Differences between two entities
When comparing two people, things, places, etc., you can say that one is bigger ..., smaller ..., more ..., less ... than the other with the comparative forms of the adjectives (for regular adjectives the ending is -er) and expressions such as als ... or immer ...
| Thilo ist viel niedlicher als der Froschkönig. | Thilo is much cuter than the frog prince. |
| Gerdi wird immer gieriger! | Gerdi is getting more and more greedy! |
Differences among three or more entities
When comparing more than two people, things, places, etc., you can express that something is the best, the hippest, the bee's knees by using the superlative forms of adjectives (for regular adjectives, the ending is -est) and expressions such as in der ganzen Welt (in the whole world) or unter allen anderen ... (among all others)
| Die Königin will wissen, wer die schönste Frau im Lande ist. | The queen wants to know who the most beautiful woman in the country is. |
| Die Königin sollte mehr lesen! JEDER weiß, dass Schneewittchen am schönsten ist. | The queen should read more! EVERYONE knows that Snow White is most beautiful (of all). |
Regular adjectives
Regular comparative and superlative adjectives merely put an -er and an -est ending on the basic adjective, even if they are very long (in contrast to English, which uses 'more' or 'most' if the adjective is more than two syllables long, such as diligent or intelligent). In the column 'superlative' the first version (e.g., 'die böste') is the attributive adjective, while the second version (e.g., 'am bösesten) is the predicate adjective. Remember: 'the most evil queen' is an attributive adjective and 'this queen was the most evil' is a predicate adjective.
| basic | comparative | superlative | english |
| böse | böser | die böseste/am bösesten | evil/more evil/most evil |
| faul | fauler | die faulste/am faulsten | lazy/lazier/laziest |
| fleißig | fleißiger | die fleißigste/am fleißigsten | diligent/more diligent/most diligent |
| klein | kleiner | die kleinste/am kleinsten | small/smaller/smallest |
| traurig | trauriger | die traurigste/am traurigsten | sad/sadder/saddest |
Irregular adjectives
Irregular comparative and superlative adjectives put an -er and an -est ending on the basic adjective, in addition to changes to the word stem. For example, syllables that are one syllable long and have -a-, -o-, -u-.
| basic | comparative | superlative | english |
| alt | älter | die älteste/am ältesten | old/older/oldest |
| arm | ärmer | die ärmste/am ärmsten | poor/poorer/poorest |
| dumm | dümmer | die dümmste/am dümmsten | dumb/dumber/dumbest |
| jung | jünger | die jüngste/am jüngsten | young/younger/youngest |
| kalt | kälter | die kälteste/am kältesten | cold/colder/coldest |
| klug | klüger | die klügste/am klügsten | smart/smarter/smartest |
| lang | länger | die längste/am längsten | long/longer/longest |
| scharf | schärfer | die schärfste/am schärfsten | sharp/sharper/sharpest |
| schwach | schwächer | die schwächste/am schwächsten | weak/weaker/weakest |
| stark | stärker | die stärkste/am stärksten | strong/stronger/strongest |
| warm | wärmer | die wärmste/am wärmsten | warm/warmer/warmest |
Adjectives that end in -el, -en or -er drop the -e- before the comparative endings (but keep it in the superlative form!):
| basic | comparative | superlative | english |
| bitter | bittrer | die bitterste/am bittersten | bitter/more bitter/most bitter |
| dunkel | dunkler | die dunkelste/am dunkelsten | dark/darker/darkest |
| teuer | teurer | die teuerste/am teuersten | expensive/more expensive/most expensive |
Adjectives that end in -s, -ß, -z, -d, -t or a vowel ... add an -e before the superlative -st suffix or drop the -s from the -st (adding the Umlaut in the one-syllable -a, -o, -u adjectives):
| basic | comparative | superlative | english |
| boshaft | boshafter | die boshafteste/am boshaftesten | malicious/more malicious/most malicious |
| groß | größer | die größte/am größten | big/bigger/biggest |
| hart | härter | die härteste/am härtesten | hard/harder/hardest |
| intelligent | intelligenter | die intelligenteste/am intelligentesten | intelligent/more intelligent/most intelligent |
| nett | netter | die netteste/am nettesten | nice/nicer/nicest |
| schlau | schlauer | die schlaueste/am schlauesten | smart/smarter/smartest |
| schwarz | schwärzer | die schwärzeste/am schwärzesten | black/blacker/blackest |
| süß | süßer | die süßeste/am süßesten | sweet/sweeter/sweetest |
And of course, some adjectives are utterly irregular! You simply need to memorize these:
| basic | comparative | superlative | english |
| gut | besser | die beste/am besten | good/better/best |
| hoch | höher | die höchste/am höchsten | tall(high)/taller/tallest |
| nah | näher | die nächste/am nächsten | near/nearer/nearest |
| viel | mehr | die meiste/am meisten | many/more/most |
Adjective endings
Attributive adjectives
Attributive adjectives (in contrast with predicate adjectives) are placed before the noun and take endings in both the basic and comparative/superlative forms depending on the gender, number and case of the noun they describe.
Comparative or superlative adjectives that precede nouns take the same adjective endings as basic (i.e., non-comparative/superlative) attributive adjectives, in addition to the comparative and superlative endings. They can be preceded by der-words, by ein-words or by other determiners.
| Schneewittchen arbeitet auf einen höheren Lebensstandard für Märchenfiguren hin. | Snow White is working for a higher standard of living for fairy tale characters. |
| Aschenputtels Vater würde seinen Stieftöchtern nicht mehr die teuersten Geschenke vom Markt kaufen. | Cinderella's father would no longer buy his stepdaughters the most expensive gifts from the market. |
Predicate adjectives: comparative
Comparative adjectives that follow nouns (separated by a verb such as sein, werden, heißen) take only the comparative endings, but no other adjective endings.
| Wolfgang ist viel moderner als Wolfdietrich. | Wolfgang is much more modern than Wolfdietrich. |
| Tja, er ist auch viel hochnäsiger! | Yes, well, he is also much snootier! |
Predicate adjectives: superlative
Superlative adjectives that follow nouns take another kind of superlative ending -sten and are preceded by am.
| Welches Märchen ist am interessantesten? | Which fairy tale is the most interesting? |
| Das weiß ich nicht, aber ohne Frage ist Aschenputtel am rachsüchtigsten! Weißt du, was mit den Stiefschwestern geschehen ist?!? | That I don't know, but without question Cinderella is the most vengeful! Do you know what happened to the stepsisters?!? |