Degrees of comparison in German by exception. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German: exceptions

Adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison:

For example:

• Dieser Zug ist schnell. Jener Zug ist schneller. - This train is fast. That train is faster.
• Der Intercity-Express ist am schnellsten. - Intercity Express is the fastest.
• Dieser Sportler läuft schnell. Jener Sportler läuft schneller. Welcher Sportler läuft am schnellsten? - This athlete runs fast. That athlete runs faster. Which athlete runs the fastest/fastest?

So, adjectives and adverbs form degrees of comparison as follows:

Suffix -est used if the adjective ends in -s, -ß, -st, -t, -tz, -z, -x, For example:

• heiß - am heißesten ( hot - the hottest; hot - hottest of all)
• nett - am nettesten ( cute - the cutest; cute - cutest of all)

In other cases, when forming a superlative degree, the suffix is ​​used -st.

Adjectives ending in -en, -el, -er- for example, trocken - dry, dunkel - dark, munter - cheerful, - are comparatively lost -e before -n, -l, -r:

• dunkel-dunkler

In monosyllabic adjectives with root vowels a, o, u- for example, alt - old, oft - frequent, kurz- short- vowels receive an umlaut:

• alt - älter - am ältesten
• oft - öfter - am öftesten
• kurz - kürzer - am kürzesten

The following adjectives form degrees of comparison using this type:

• alt - old
• arm - poor
• hart - strong, tough, difficult, harsh
• kalt- cold
• krank - sick
• lang - long
• scharf - spicy
• schwach - weak
• schwarz - black
• stark- strong
• warm - warm
• grave- rude
• groß - big
• dumm - silly
• jung- young
• klug - smart
• kurz- short, short

But there are also monosyllabic adjectives without umlaut in the comparative and superlative degrees - for example, klar - clear, false - wrong, incorrect, stolz- proud, rund - round. Wed:

• klar - klarer - am klarsten
• stolz - stolzer - am stolzesten

In addition, adjectives that have a diphthong at the root do not have an umlaut (for example, laut - loud, noisy, faul - lazy), as well as disyllabic and polysyllabic adjectives (for example, langsam - slow, dunkel - dark).

A number of adjectives allow forms with and without umlaut - for example, rot - red:

• rot - röter / roter - am rötesten / am rotesten

The adjectives blass belong to the same type - pale,glatt- smooth, karg- stingy,nass- wet, schmal- narrow, fromm - pious.

Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms of degrees of comparison.

• gut - besser - am besten (good - better - the best; good - better - best)
• viel - mehr - am meisten (a lot - more - most of all)
• germ(e) - lieber - am liebsten (willingly - most willingly - most willingly)
• bald - eher - am ehesten (soon (about time) - most likely - most likely)
• nah - näher - am nächsten (close - closer - nearest; close - closest - closest)
• hoch - höher - am höchsten (high - higher - the highest; high - above - above all)

Adjectives hoch - high And niedrig - short act in pairs when it comes to objects - buildings, trees, prices, etc. If you need to indicate a person’s height, they say:

• Er ist hoch von Wuchs. - He is tall.
• Er ist groß. - He is tall.
• Er ist klein. - He is small.

Remember also: adjective nächster(-e, -es) means next(cf. English next). For example:

• Nächster Halt ist Stralsund. - The next train stop is Stralsund.

If an adjective in the comparative or superlative degree acts as a modifier, then it is declined as an adjective in the positive degree (that is, in its original form):

• Fahren wir mit einem schnelleren Zug! - Let's take a faster train!

In this case, superlative adjectives are used with the definite article:

• Die besten Studenten fahren nach Deutschland. - The best students go to Germany.

A comparative and superlative adjective can also be part of a compound nominal predicate:

• Dieser Haus ist hoch, unser Haus ist höher, aber Ihr Haus ist am höchsten. - This house is tall, our house is taller, but your house is the tallest.

When comparing the same qualities of persons or objects, an adjective is used in the positive degree (that is, in its original form) and conjunctions so... wie, ebenso... wie, genauso... wie. The choice of a specific union depends on how much you want to emphasize the degree of similarity:

• Christa ist so alt wie ich. - Krista is the same age as you.
• Heute sind die Preise ebenso hoch wie gestern. - Today prices are as high as yesterday.
• Du machst alles genauso gut wie er. - You do everything just as (literally: exactly the same) well as he does.

When comparing unequal qualities of persons or objects, use a comparative adjective + conjunction als:

• Dieser Film ist interessanter als jener. - This movie is more interesting than that one.
• Dieses Buch ist weniger interessant als jenes. - This book is less interesting than that one.
• Heute sind die Preise niedriger als gestern. - Today prices are lower than yesterday.

How to say: “The more the merrier”? Very simple: there is a design for this je...desto:

• Je mehr, desto besser. - The bigger, the better.
• Desto besser! - All the better!

Adjective alt - old appears in stable constructions denoting age:

• Wie alt bist du? - How old are you?
• Ich bin... Jahre alt. - I'm... years old.(about numerals, see the part “Arithmetic in German”).
• Sie ist älter als ihr Bruder. - She is older than her brother.

Pay attention to the following gradations:

• ein junger Mann - young man (approximately 15-30 years old)
• ein jüngerer Mann - middle-aged person (approximately 30-45 years old)
• ein älterer Mann - an elderly person, an elderly person (approximately 50-65 years old)
• ein alter Mann - old person, a person of advanced age (from about 70 years old)

Der kürzeste Beamtenwitz: Geht ein Beamter zur Arbeit. - The shortest joke about officials: an official goes to work.

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Dieses Haus ist modern. This house is modern.

Jenes Haus ist moderner. That house is more modern.

Das ist das modernste Haus. This is the most modern house.

Quality may be inherent, may be inherent in this or that object to a greater or lesser extent, therefore qualitative adjectives (adj.) have in German, as in Russian, three degrees (degrees) of comparison: positive (der Positiv), comparative ( der Komparativ) and excellent (der Superlativ).

In the sentence Dieses Haus ist modern adj. simply denotes the quality of an object (this house). This form, which is called the initial form, is called the positive step. It indicates the quality of an object or process without regard to other objects or processes.

The sentence Jenes Haus ist moderner says that the object (that house) has a given quality to a greater extent than any other object. This form is called comparative degree..

In the sentence Das ist das modernste Haus adj. indicates that this subject is of the highest degree. quality. This form is called the superlative step...

Education of degrees of comparison

Comparative step. is formed from the base of the positive step. using the suffix – er. Excellent step. is formed from the base of the positive step. using the suffix –(e)st. Adj. ending in –d,-t,-s, -β,-z,-sch receive –e between the root and the suffix –st. For example: weit-weit-e-st.

Excellent step. has 2 forms:

1) The first form of the superlative step. formed with am + -ste-n: klein- am kleinsten; (small - least of all, least of all) fleißig- am fleißigsten; (diligent - more diligent than all (all); am ältesten; (old - older than all (all);

2) The second form is formed according to the rule, using the suffix –(e)st, and is used if adj. stands before the noun, playing the role of a definition. Adj. inflected and used with the definite article, for example: der kleinste Haus (the smallest house)), der fleißigste Student (the most diligent student); der älteste Sohn (eldest son).

Monosyllabic adj. with root vowels –a, -o, -u when forming comparative and superlative steps. comparisons usually get an umlaut:

stark - stärker - am stärksten;

lang- länger- am längsten;

warm- wärmer- am wärmsten;

kalt- kälter- am kältesten;

groß- größer- am größten;

kurz- kürzer- am kürzesten;

jung- jünger- am jüngsten.

Without umlaut, degrees of comparison form:

1) Adj. with diphthong –au:

laut- lauter- am lautesten (loud)

grau- grauer- am grausten (gray)

faul- fauler- am faulsten (lazy)

blau- blauer- am blausten (blue)

2) Adj. with suffixes –el, -er, — en, -e, — bar, -sam, -ig, — lich, — haft:

dunkel – dunkler- am dunkelsten (dark)

mager – magerer- am magersten (thin, skinny)

munter – munterer – am muntersten (cheerful)

tapfer- tapferer – am tapfersten (brave)

offen- offener – am offensten (open)

modern – moderner – am modernsten (modern)

gerade – gerader- am geradesten (straight)

dankbar – dankbarer – am dankbarsten (grateful)

langsam – langsamer- am langsamsten (slow)

sparsam – sparsamer – am sparsamsten (thrifty, economical)

mutig-mutiger – am mutigsten (courageous)

frostig – frostiger – am frostigsten (frosty)

artig – artiger – am artigsten (obedient)

stattlich – stattlicher – am stattlichsten (prominent, noticeable)

boshaft – boshafter – am boshaftesten (evil)

3) The following monosyllabic adjectives:

brav-braver – am bravsten (brave)

bunt- bunter – am buntesten (motley)

dumpf- dumpfer – am dumpfsten (deaf, muffled)

falsch – falscher – am falschesten (false, incorrect)

flach – flacher – am flachsten (sloping, flat)

froh – froher – am frohesten (joyful)

klar- klarer – am klarsten (clear)

knapp- knapper – am knappsten (close, limited)

rasch – rascher – am raschesten (quick)

rot-roter – am rotesten (red)

rund- runder – am rundesten (round)

sanft – sanfter – am sanftesten (soft, gentle, meek, gentle)

satt- satter – am sattesten (full)

schlank – schlanker – am schlanksten (slender)

starr – starrer – am starrsten (stubborn)

stolz- stolzer- am stolzesten (proud)

voll- voller – am vollsten (full)

wahr – wahrer – am wahrsten (truthful)

zart – zarter – am zartesten (tender)

Not as a general rule, the following adjectives are formed:

gut-besser – am besten, der beste(good - better - best of all, the best)

groβ – gröβer – am gröβten, der gröβte(big - bigger - most of all, biggest)

nah – näher – am nächsten, der nächste(close - closest - closest, closest)

hoch – höher – am höchsten, der höchste(high - above - above all, the highest)

Using degrees of comparison of adjectives

Adj. in comparative and superlative step. are used in a sentence, just like adj. in the positive degree, as a definition and nominal part of the predicate (predicative).

Let's give examples when adj. in comparative and superlative step. used as a nominal part of the predicate:

Dieser Weg ist länger. This road is longer. (This road is longer)

Dieser Film ist am interessantesten. This movie is the most interesting.

Das ist der interessanteste Film. This is the most interesting film. In this case, the full form is adj. used as a nominal part of the predicate and as a modifier of a noun.

If adj. acts as a definition, then it agrees with the word being defined in gender, number and case, i.e. used in full form. Comparative step. inflected in the same way as the positive depending on the accompanying article or pronoun, for example:

Nom.der weitere Weg

Gen.des weiteren Weges

Dat.dem weiteren Weg

Akk. den weiteren Weg

Nom.ein weiterer Weg

Gen. eines weiteren Weges

Dat.einem weiteren Weg

Akk.einen weiteren Weg

When comparing two items of equal quality, the adj. is used. in a positive degree and the adverb (eben)so “as well” and wie “as”, for example:

Bis zu diesem Dorf ist es (eben)so weit wie bis zu jener Stadt.

This village is as far away as that city.

When comparing two items with different degrees. quality used adj. in comparative step. and the adverb als “than”, for example:

Bis zu diesem Dorf ist es weiter als bis zu jener Stadt.

To express an increase in the degree of quality, the adverb immer is used in the meaning “everything” with adj. in comparative degree:

Es wird immer dunkler. It's getting darker.

To enhance the degree of quality, various adverbs can be used, most often viel and weit in the meaning of “much”, with adj. in comparative degree:

Dieses Gebäude ist viel (weit) schöner. This building is much more beautiful.

To express decreasing degrees. quality, the adverb weniger with a positive step is usually used. adjective:

Dieses Gebäude ist weniger schön. This building is less beautiful.

Sometimes comparative step. used to soften or limit the step. quality to find the average between two opposite quantities. For example, in order to convey the meaning of the Russian word “elderly”, the comparative degree is used:

ein älterer Mann old man

Comparative step. from the adjective letzt is used when talking about the two objects named above, to distinguish them:

Er bekam zwei Briefe. Den letzteren legte er in die Tasche.

He received two letters. He put the latter in his pocket.

As a definition, excellent step. the adjective is declined according to the weak declension, since the noun with a definition in the superlative step. used with the definite article:

No. der beste Student

Gen. des besten Students

Dat. dem besten Studenten

Akk. den besten Students

Instead of the definite article, it is possible to use pronouns, for example, possessive ones:

No. my best Freund

Gen. meines besten Freundes

Dat. meinem besten Freund

Akk. meinen besten Freund

If there is a comparison with the superlative degree, then the prepositions von and unter are usually used, for example:

Er ist der beste von (unter) meinen Freunden. He is the best of all my friends.

Adjectives are used not only to describe an object, person or phenomenon, but also to compare them. Adjectives in German have three degrees of comparison: positive (or basic), comparative and superlative.
Some adjectives do not change according to degrees of comparison - this is explained by the fact that not all qualities can be compared with each other.
Adverbs in German coincide with the unchangeable form of the adjective and change according to degrees of comparison in the same way.

Features of the formation of degrees of comparison

An adjective in the positive degree does not have any special endings. Endings appear only in the comparative and superlative degrees. Study the table carefully:

As can be seen from the table, comparative adjectives receive the ending "er" and in the superlative they have two options: with the preposition am And ending in "sten" or with an article and an ending "ste". These forms have the same suffix "est" but different endings. Let's look at the difference in the use of these forms using several examples:

Dises Auto ist schnell. Aber jenes Auto ist schneller. Und mein Auto is am schnellsten.
Ich habe zwei Schwester. Die schönste Schwester ist Monika.

So the form "am...sten" used without a noun, as part of a predicate.

If the adjective ends in -s, -ß, -st, -t, -tz, -z, -x, then before the suffix "est" a connecting vowel appears "e". For example: heiß – am heißesten/der heißeste

Those adjectives that end in -en, -el, -er, comparatively lose -e before -n, -l, -r, For example: trocken - trockner (dry - drier).

Another feature concerns monosyllabic adjectives with vowels a, o, u at the root. In the comparative and superlative degrees, these adjectives receive an umlaut. These adjectives include:

alt - old
arm - poor
hart - strong, harsh
kalt - cold
krank - sick
lang - long
scharf - sharp
schwach - weak
schwarz - black
stark - strong
warm - warm
groß - big
dumm - stupid
jung - young
klug - smart
kurz - short

For example: kurz – kürzer – am kürzesten, kalt – kälter – am kältesten

However, there are monosyllabic adjectives that form degrees of comparison without an umlaut. There are few of them:
stolz - proud
klar - clear
falsch - incorrect
voll - full
froh - cheerful
satt - full
brav - obedient
zart - gentle
schlank - slender, thin
rund - round

For example: falsch – falscher – am falschesten

Also, adjectives with the suffixes -er, -el, -en, -bar, -sam, -ig, -lich, haft, -e do not receive umlaut. For example, such adjectives as: langsam (slow), frostig (frosty), stattlich (noticeable).
Adjectives with diphthongs, that is, two vowels in the root, do not have an umlaut: laut (loud), faul (lazy).

There are exceptions to every rule. The same applies to some adjectives and adverbs. They do not form degrees of comparison according to the rule and have their own forms that you just need to remember. But don’t be afraid, there aren’t many such words.

gut – besser – am besten (good – better – best)
wohl – besser – am wohlsten (good - better - best)
viel – mehr – am meisten (many – more – most of all)
gern – lieber – am liebsten (willingly – more willingly – most willingly)
bald – eher – am ehesten (soon – most likely – most likely)
nah – näher – am nächsten (close – closer – nearest)
hoch – höher – am höchsten (high – higher – the most)
oft – häufiger – am häufigsten (frequent - more often - most frequent)

If you want to compare something, then the union als will help you: Dein Auto ist schneller als mein. — Your car is faster than mine.

If you compare similar qualities and want to say “the same as,” then the adjective is used in the positive degree together with the conjunctions so ... wie, ebenso ... wie, genauso ... wie.
For example: Dein Auto ist so schnell wie mein. — Your car is as fast as mine.

To say "The more the merrier" a construction is needed je...desto, For example: Je mehr, desto besser. The bigger, the better.

Lesson assignments

Exercise 1. Use adjectives to the correct degree.

1. Heute ist das Wetter (gut) als gestern. 2. Im Winter ist es (kalt) als in Frühling. 3. Hans arbeitet (viel) als Thomas. 4. Sie ist das (klug) Mädchen, das ich kenne. 5. Dieser Text ist (schwierig) als jener. 6. Dieser Haus ist (hoch) als alle Häuser hier. 7. Diese Jacke ist (teuer) in diesem Geschäft. 8. Ich trinke (gern) Tee als Kafee. 9. (wenig) habe ich auf dich gewartet. 10. Dein Koffer ist (klein) als mein.

Answer 1.
1. besser 2. kälter 3. mehr 4. klügste 5. schwieriger 6. am höchsten 7. am teuersten 8. lieber 9. am wenigsten 10. kleiner

Adjective

Adjectives can be compared. German grammar, like Russian, distinguishes three degrees of comparison.

This article presents all three degrees of comparison, the rules for their formation and examples of use.

1. Education

Correct adjectives:

<-e->:

Adjectives with endings<-e>:

Irregular adjectives:

2. Education rules

Correct adjectives:

The basic form of the comparative degree receives the ending<-er>. The attributive form of the superlative degree is used with the definite article and receives the ending<-ste>. The form of predicative use is preceded by the word , and the adjective gets the ending<-sten>:
→ schön er ~ der/die/das schön ste ~ am schön sten
→ klein er ~ der/die/das klein ste ~ am klein sten
→neu er ~ der/die/das neu ste ~ am neu sten
→ faul er ~ der/die/das faul ste ~ am faul sten
→ schnell er ~ der/die/das Schnell ste ~ am Schnell sten

Adjectives with forms having an insertion<-e->:

If the base form of the adjective ends in<-d>, <-t>, <-z>, <ß>or , then for better pronunciation an insertion is added to the superlative forms<-e->:
→wil d~der/die/das wild e ste~am wild e sten
→ schlech t~ der/die/das schlecht e ste ~ am schlecht e sten
→ stol z~der/die/das stolz e ste ~ am stolz e sten
→ hüb sch~ der/die/das hübsch e ste ~ am hübsch e sten
→ sü ß ~der/die/das süß e ste ~ am süß e sten

Adjectives with endings<-e>:

If the base form of the adjective already ends in<-e>, then the comparative form receives only the ending<-r>:
→leis e~leise r
→ müd e~müde r
→ bös e~bose r
→ gerad e~gerade r
→weis e~weise r

Adjectives with forms that have umlauts:

In some adjectives, the vowel becomes an umlaut in other forms. Most often we are talking about monosyllabic adjectives that describe a person:
→ a lt ~ ä lter ~ der/die/das ä lteste~am ä ltesten
→ st a rk~st ä rker ~ der/die/das st ä rkste ~ am st ä rksten
→gr oß ~ gr ö ßer ~ der/die/das gr ö ßte ~ am gr ö ßten
→d u mm~d ü mmer ~ der/die/das d ü mmste~amd ü mmsten
→ges u nd~ges ü nder ~ der/die/das ges ü ndeste ~ am ges ü ndesten

Irregular adjectives:

Irregular adjectives have different forms in other degrees that must be learned by heart.

3. Examples

Positive degree:

It is the basic form of an adjective and describes only one noun.

Attributive usage:
→ Petra ist ein schönes Mädchen.
(Petra is a beautiful girl.)

Predicative use:
→ Petra ist schön.
(Petra is beautiful.)

Comparative:

She compares two nouns and describes the difference between them.

Attributive usage:
→ Petra ist ein schönes Mädchen, aber Maria ist ein schöneres Mädchen.
(Petra is a beautiful girl, but Maria is a more beautiful girl.)

Predicative use:
→ Petra ist schön, aber Maria ist schöner(als ie).
(Petra is beautiful, but Mary is more beautiful (her).)

Superlative:

She compares at least three nouns and names the highest degree. When used attributively, the definite article is added.

Attributive usage:
→ Petra ist ein schönes Mädchen, Maria ist ein schöneres Mädchen, aber Eva ist das Schönste Mädchen.
(Petra is a beautiful girl, Maria is a more beautiful girl, but Eva is the most beautiful girl.)

Predicative use:
→ Petra ist schön, Maria ist schöner, aber Eva ist am schönsten(von allen).
(Petra is beautiful, Maria is more beautiful, but Eva is the most beautiful of all.)

4. Signal words

Positive degree:

so... - Also) ...
... wie- ... How
zu... - too much...

Comparative:

... als- ... how
viel... - much...
immer... - All ...

Superlative:

... von Allen- ... everyone / everything
... Genitiv - ... genitive p.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German are represented by several forms: positive (Positiv), comparative (Komparativ), superlative (Superlativ) and absolutely superlative (Elativ).

Table 1 “Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German.”

Thanks to the table, you can understand that degrees of comparison of adjectives in German online can be divided according to the following criteria:

• The basic (positive) form (der Positiv), is characterized by a neutral definition without a pronounced attribute or quality. For example, a high level - ein hohes Niveau - this level is simply high, and not the highest or unsurpassed height.
• Comparative degree - the quality of an object or phenomenon is superior to similar properties or qualities of the object with which the comparison is being made, they may also be inferior to them. For example, a higher level - das höhere Niveau - this level, when compared, is higher than the original one.
• Superlative degree (der Superlativ) - the properties of an object or phenomenon are unsurpassed, that is, there are no analogues. Used to compare three or more objects or phenomena.

Comparative degree of adjectives in German

Comparative degree of adjectives in German language is formed with the suffix -er, which is added to the positive form. We suggest that you familiarize yourself in tabular form with the basic rules for the formation of a comparative degree.

Table 2 " Comparative degree of adjectives in German».

Superlative degree of adjectives in German

The superlative degree is formed by adding the suffix (e)st to the positive degree. Let's take a closer look at the superlative degree of the adjective.

Table 3 "Excellent" degree of comparison of German adjectives».

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German: exceptions

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German have such exceptions that do not obey the above rules. It is necessary to memorize such degrees of comparison.

Table 4 "Exceptions in degree adjective in German».

Exercises for degree of comparison of adjectives in German

To consolidate the material covered, we suggest testing your knowledge. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German exercises