Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Monica Davis Comparative

Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs Monica Davis

Comparative and Superlative of Adjectives In German, comparison of adjectives is similar to English. Compare the following phrases in English and German. English the fast car German das schnelle Auto the faster car das schnellere Auto the fastest car das schnellste Auto Don’t worry about the “e” on the end of the adjectives you will learn these endings in a later chapter.

Comparative and Superlative of Adverbs In German, comparison of adverbs is slightly different than comparison of adjectives - mostly in the superlative form. Compare the following phrases with “schnell” used as an adjective and then as an adverb: Adjective Adverb the fast car das schnelle Auto Rolf läuft schnell. Rolf runs fast. the faster car das schnellere Auto Rolf läuft schneller. Rolf runs faster. the fastest car das schnellste Auto Rolf läuft am schnellsten. Rolf runs (the) Note how the superlative form gets “am” in front of the adverb and “en” at the end. fastest.

Adjectives/Adverbs ending in “d”, “t”, “s”, “ß”, “sch”, “st”, “x”, or “z” If the adjective or adverb ends in one of the above letters or combination of letters, the ending of the superlative form has an additional “e”: Die Rockmusik ist am interessantesten. The rock music is the most interesting. Im Sommer ist es am heißesten. It is the hottest during the summer.

One-syllable Adjectives/Adverbs Containing “a”, “o”, or “u” If the adjective or adverb contains one syllable and an “a”, “o”, or “u”, then the vowel will acquire an umlaut in the comparative and superlative forms: Es ist wärmer in Spanien als in Deutschland. It’s warmer in Spain than in Germany. Eva ist größer als Erika. Ich bin am klügsten. Eva is bigger than Erika. I am the most clever (one). Der älteste Mann ist Gerhard. The oldest man is Gerhard.

Irregular Adjectives/Adverbs Some adjectives/adverbs have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative. These irregular forms must be memorized: Positive Comparative Superlative gut besser am besten viel mehr am meisten hoch höher am höchsten nahe näher am nächsten gern lieber am liebsten

Let’s do some practice. Give the correct comparative/superlative form of the given adjective/adverb. Refer to pp. 31 -32 in your text if you need help. Heinrich has more money. (viel) Genau! The correct answer is mehr ! The grass is greener here. (grün) Genau! The correct answer is grüner !

Let’s do some more practice. Give the correct comparative/superlative form of the given adjective/adverb. Refer to pp. 31 -32 in your text if you need help. This drug store is the closest. (nahe) Genau! The correct answer is am nächsten ! The turtle is the slowest. (langsam) Genau! The correct answer is am langsamsten !

Let’s do some more practice. Give the correct comparative/superlative form of the given adjective/adverb. Refer to pp. 31 -32 in your text if you need help. Heinrich is the shortest. (kurz) Genau! The correct answer is am kürzesten ! My father is shorter than my mother. (kurz) Genau! The correct answer is kürzer !

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