Revision: comparative and superlative adjectives
Adjectives and some adverbs can take different forms that express a higher degree or the highest degree of a characteristic. People and things can be compared in this way. There are three levels of comparison:
The positive is the basic form of the adjective and describes a characteristic.
Eine kleine Wohnung ist billig.
The comparative compares people or things in terms of this characteristic. It expresses that someone or something possesses a quality to a higher degree.
Ein Zimmer in einer WG ist billiger.
The superlative expresses that someone or something possesses the highest degree of a quality.
Ein Zimmer bei den Eltern ist am billigsten.
Regular comparative forms
We create regular comparative forms like this:
Positive: basic form (e.g. billig)
Comparative: adjective + -er (e.g. billiger)
Superlative: am + adjective +-sten (e.g. am billigsten)
Comparative forms with umlaut
Single-syllable adjectives with the vowel a, o or u usually have an umlaut in the comparative and superlative. The adjective gesund also belongs to this group even though it has two syllables.
| Form | Example |
|
Positive: |
warm |
|
Comparative: |
wärmer |
| Superlative: | am wärmsten |
Superlatives ending in -esten
If the adjective ends in -t, -d, -s, -z, -ß, -sch or -x, the ending in the superlative is -esten. It is easier to pronounce the word because of the added e.
| Form | Example |
|
Positive: |
alt |
| Comparative: | älter |
| Superlative: | am ältesten |
|
Grammatical terms in German: Positiv: The positive is the basic form of the adjective. It describes characteristics of people or things, e.g. schnell, warm, gut. Komparativ: The comparative is the form of the adjective used to express a difference, e.g. schneller, wärmer, besser. Superlativ: The superlative is the highest form of the adjective. This form expresses that a person or thing possesses the highest level of a quality, e.g. am schnellsten, am wärmsten, am besten. |