Comparative (Komparativ)

Comparative (Komparativ) in German is an extremely important piece of knowledge that learners need to master. Komparativ is the comparative form of an adjective (Adjektiv) or adverb (Adverb) in German. Some German learners often get confused about how to inflect adjectives in comparative structures. Today's article will clarify the rules and usage of Komparativ.

Let's get started!!!

1. How to transform adjectives into Komparativ

a) The majority of adjectives and adverbs, when transformed into the comparative form, add the ending -er. For example:

frisch → frischer

hell → heller

schön → schöner

b) Adjectives or adverbs of one syllable that contain the vowels a, o, u must add an Umlaut when transformed into the comparative form.

alt → älter

groß → größer

jung → jünger

c) Adjectives or adverbs ending in -el, when transformed into the comparative form, drop the e and add -er.

sensibel → sensibler

dunkel → dunkler

flexibel → flexibler

d) Adjectives or adverbs ending in -er that are preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) simply drop the e and add the ending -er when transformed into the comparative form.

teuer →teurer

sauer → saurer

e) Some SPECIAL cases:

gut → besser

viel → mehr

gern → lieber

hoch → höher

1. Comparative structure with als

- When we want to compare the degree of difference between two objects or actions, we use the comparative structure Komparativ with als.

- Structure: S1 + V + Adj/Adv (Komparativ) + als + S2 + (V).

S1 and S2 are the two subjects being compared. Both S1 and S2 are in the Nominativ.

For example:

Meine Tochter studiert besser als ich.

(My daughter studies better than I do.)

Das Tablet ist billiger als der Laptop.(Tablets are cheaper than laptops.)

!!! We can use the aber structure instead of the als structure:

Deine Wohnung ist schöner als seine Wohnung.

(Your apartment is more beautiful than his apartment.)

= Seine Wohnung ist schön, aber deine Wohnung ist schöner.

(His apartment is beautiful, but your apartment is even more beautiful.)