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German Grammar * Review & Exercises

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COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE

Words such as gut, heiß, or schnell function as adjectives or adverbs. Their basic form is called positive. They describe objects, persons, or actions. When one compares those, they are either the same (or similar), or they are not.

  1. To express similiarity (identity), the following construction is used:
    = Mein Auto ist so schnell wie dein Auto. (My car is as fast as your car).
    The positive (basic) form of the adjective (schnell) is bracketed by so ... wie (as...as).
  2. To express dissimilarity, one can simply negate similarity:
    = Mein Auto ist nicht so schnell wie dein Auto. (My car is not as fast as your car).

    Or, a comparative form is employed. When forming the comparative, add -er to the positive form.
    = Mein Auto ist schneller als dein Auto. (My car is faster than your car).
    = Dein Auto ist langsamer als mein Auto. (Your car is slower than my car).

    In English, either the same is done (fast - faster), or the word more is used (intelligent - more intelligent). German uses the -er addition only.

  3. In a comparison, one of the items compared may turn out to be the single superior item. This item is described with the superlative.

  4. When comparative and superlative forms are used as adjectives, they take adjective endings.
    = Er hat das langsamere Auto. (He has the slower car).
  5. Causal Relationships comparing items are expressed as follows:
    the ... the ... = je... je..., OR je... umso..., OR je... desto... (preferred) plus the comparative form.
    = The more you study the better your grades.

    Note the word order in both clauses: the initial je functions like a subordinating conjunction, the finite verb is at the end; the subject follows the comparative form. After je/umso/desto you have verb/subject!
  6. If something occurs in increments, English doubles the comparative form to describe this. German uses the word immer plus the comparative form:
    = Er lief immer schneller. (He ran faster and faster).
    Note: more and more = immer mehr, HOWEVER, more and more aggressive = immer aggressiver (this is the only correct way to express this).
  7. Some Details:

    1. One-syllable [= mono-syllabic] words add an umlaut when appropriate (= when it has an 'umlautable' vowel = a, o, u). Common mono-syllabic words (adding an umlaut) are:
      = alt, arm (poor), dumm, grob (coarse, crass), hart, jung, kalt, klug (smart), kurz, lang, scharf (sharp), schwach (weak), stark (strong), warm
      Beispiele: warm - wärmer; groß - größer; jung - jünger

      The following one-syllable words do not add an umlaut:
      = falsch (wrong), flach (flat), froh (glad), klar (clear), rasch (quick), roh (raw, rude), schlank (slim, slender), stolz (proud), toll (great), wahr (true), zart (tender)

    2. One-syllable words with dipthongs (double-vowels like au, ou, eu etc.) do not add an umlaut. Beispiele: laut - lauter - lautest; blau - blauer, blauest
    3. The two-syllable adjective gesund (healthy) takes an umlaut in the comparative and in the superlative forms:
      gesund - gesünder - gesündest_ (am gesündesten)
    4. If the basic ("positive") form of an adjective/adverb ends in d, t, ß, or z, an -e- is inserted after it in superlatives: hart - härtest_, kurz - kürzest_, etc.
    5. There are some irregular--and often used--forms:

      6. gernlieberliebst__prefer
      groß größer größt__tall, big, (great)
      gutbesserbest__good
      hoch (hoh-) höher höchst__high; tall
      nahenähernächst__next
      vielmehrmeist__many, much

ÜBUNGEN

If you cannot enter special characters directly:
* Cut & Paste the appropriate character from here: ß - Ä - ä - Ö - ö - Ü - ü
* Or, for the "ß" use the capital letter "B" (or an "sz"), for umlauts use these transcriptions: ä = ae; Ä = AE; ü = ue etc.

A. Fill in the blank with the correct translation of the given expression

1. Sein Fiat fährt mein Volkswagen. (as slow as)
2. Dieses Schloß ist . (older)
3. Cincinasty liegt bei Cowlumbus Cleveburg. (closer to)
4. Ich lache du. (friendlier than)
5. Ihr Tasche ist meine. (more expensive than)
6. Mein Arm ist deiner! (shorter than)
7. Dieser Stuhl ist ein Stuhl als der dort. (more expensive)
8. Der Duabi Tower ist Haus der Welt. (the highest/biggest/tallest)
9. Er ißt Sauerkraut. (the most)
10. trinke ich Wein. ("to like most")
11. Computer werden . (more and more; smaller and smaller)
12. Die Leute reagieren . (more and more aggressive)
13. Alle Autos werden . (safer and safer)
14. ihr lernt, wird eure Note. (the more/the better)

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