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Adjectives and adverbs can express three levels of comparison:
| 1) Ich habe ein schnelles Auto. 2) Martin hat ein schnelleres Auto. 3) Beate hat das schnellste Auto. |
I have a fast car. Martin has a faster car. Beate has the fastest car. |
Positive comparisons in German use the expression so...wie (as...as), or genauso...wie (just as...as) with the adjective or adverb.
| Heute ist es nicht so warm wie gestern. Dieses Buch kostet genauso viel wie jenes. Ich habe einen genauso schönen Mantel wie du. |
Today it is not as warm as yesterday. This book costs just as much as that one. I have just as pretty a coat as you. |
In German, all adjectives and adverbs form their comparative by adding an -er to the positive form. None use the equivalent of "more," as for multi-syllable English adjectives and adverbs. Most one-syllable German adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u change that vowel to its Umlaut equivalent.
| Das Wetter wird immer heisser. Die Menschen leben länger. Er will ein neueres Auto haben. Beate ist intelligenter als ich. |
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. People are living longer. He wants to have a newer car. Beate is more intelligent than I. |
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A number of irregular forms exist.
German adjectives and adverbs form their superlative with -(e)st + adjective ending. The -e- is used after a t, d, or an s sound.
The one-syllable adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u which change that vowel to its Umlaut equivalent in the comparative do so in the superlative as well.
Adjectives preceding the nouns they modify use the form definite article + adjective +(e)st + adjective ending. Adverbs and predicate adjectives use the form am + adjective +(e)st + adjective ending.
| Hans ist der intelligenteste Junge in der Klasse. Wie heisst der längste Fluss der Welt? Ich finde diese Frage am schwierigsten. |
Hans is the most intelligent boy in the class. What is the name of the longest river in the world? I find this question to be the most difficult. |
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