Regular comparatives
Regular comparatives are formed as follows:
Positive: basic form (e.g. billig)
Comparative: adjective + -er (e.g. billiger)
Superlative: am + adjective + -sten (e.g. am billigsten)
Die Fußbälle sind billig.
Die Basketbälle sind billiger.
Die Tennisbälle sind am billigsten.
Irregular comparatives: adjectives ending in -el and -er
All adjectives that end in -el and many adjectives that end in -er lose the e before the comparative ending. The superlative construction, however, is regular.
- dunkel < dunkler < am dunkelsten
- teuer < teurer < am teuersten
Der Tischtennisschläger ist nicht teuer.
Der Tennisschläger ist teurer.
Der Golfschläger ist am teuersten.
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Grammatical terms in German: der Positiv: The positive is the basic form of the adjective. We use it to describe qualities of people or things. der Komparativ: The comparative is the ranking of an adjective that compares two things to express a difference, e.g. schneller, wärmer, besser. der Superlativ: The superlative is the highest form of an adjective comparison. It describes the greatest degree of a particular quality, e.g. am schnellsten, am wärmsten, am besten. |