Comparative form of adjectives in German. Degrees of comparison of adjectives – Die Steigerung der Adjektive. Features of the formation of degrees of comparison

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 Studenten

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.

In German, as in Russian, there are three degrees of comparison of adjectives: positive, comparative And excellent.

Beispiel

Maria Lauft so schnell wie Susanne. Friederike lauft schneller als Maria. Friederike lauft am schnellsten . Sie ist die schnellste Lauferin.

Positive degree of comparison

Positive degree of comparison- This is the basic form of the adjective. It is used to compare two persons or objects using the construction so...wie (the same/same as). Before wie no comma is used.

For example: Maria lauft so Schnell wie Susanne. Maria runs as fast as Suzanne.

The positive degree is also used with other phrases with the conjunction wie. Please note that in Russian the comparative degree can be used in similar cases.

• genauso...wie exactly the same as...
• nothing so...wie not like...
• fast so...wie almost the same as...
• doppelt so...wie twice as much as...
• halb so...wie half as much as...

Comparative degree of comparison

comparative used with conjunction als(than) and is formed using the suffix er. In German before the conjunction als no comma is used.

For example: Friederike läuft schnell er als Maria. Friederike runs faster than Maria.

Superlative Comparison

Superlative Comparison adjectives are used with a definite article and are formed using the ending ste. Adverbs form superlatives with prepositions am and ending sten.

For example: Friederike ist die schnellste Läuferin. Friederike is the fastest runner. Sie lauft am schnellsten. She runs the fastest.

Features of the formation of degrees of comparison

General features of education

• Adjectives ending in d/t or s/ß/x/z, superlatives receive the suffix est. For example: lau t– lauter – am laut est en loud - louder - loudest hei ß – heißer – am heiß est en hot - hot - hottest of all
• In monosyllabic adjectives, the vowel often changes to umlaut. For example: j u ng–j ü nger – am j ü ngsten young - younger - younger than everyone
• If the root of an adjective ends in el, the vowel e in is comparatively dropped, so that only l.
  For example: dunk el– dunk l er dark - darker
• The table shows adjectives that form irregular degrees of comparison. For example: gut – besser – am besten good - better - best

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives in variable form

• For adjectives used in the attributive function, all degrees of comparison are declined. In this case, the degree of comparison is first formed, and then the case ending is added to it. The superlative degree of these adjectives is formed using the definite article. For example: der klein e Junge/der Klein ere Junge/der Klein ste Junge little boy - smaller boy - the smallest boy ein klein er Junge/ein klein Erer Junge/der Klein ste Junge

Formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs in an unchangeable form

• Adverbs always form superlatives with prepositions am and suffix sten. For example: wichtig – wichtig er – am wichtig sten
• Adjectives in the predicative function can form superlatives not only with am, but also with definite article. After the definite article they receive a suffix ste. For example: Diese Aufgabe ist am wichtig sten. This task is most important. Diese Aufgabe ist die wichtig ste. This task is the most important.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives are one of the simplest topics in the German language.
There are three forms of adjectives: ordinary, comparative and superlative. For example: beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful. And in German they are formed according to a completely understandable pattern:

schnell - fast
schnell + er - faster
am schnell + sten - the fastest

Well, it’s also worth noting the superlative forms that stand immediately before the object and characterize it: der/die/das schnell + ste – the fastest / the fastest / the fastest

Der Mount Everest ist der höchste Berg der Welt.– Mount Everest is the largest mountain in the world.

The degrees of comparison of some German adjectives need to be memorized, since they are exceptions and have special forms.

good: gut – besser – am besten

high: hoch – höher – am höchsten

close: nah – näher – am nächsten

a lot: viel – mehr – am meisten

But in most German books these three forms are presented precisely in the section “degree of comparison of German adjectives”.

And that's all? No. Where is it going? You're not in English class. German – it wouldn’t be German if everything were so easy and simple. As always, there is something to trip over and even get yourself in trouble.

So! We get rid of tripping the traditional way. Namely, we take it and remember it. No witchcraft...

What should you pay attention to? Where are they, the treacherous elements?

Degrees of comparison of German adjectives

The whole point is that you need to remember a few rules that I will list...

1. If the adjective ends with the letters: -d, – t, -s, -ss, -ß, – sch, -z, -tz, -x – then the superlative ending – est is added to it (instead of just -st ):

wild – wilder – am wildest en
heiß – heißer – am heißes ten

2. Second nuance: some adjectives can change vowels radically: the vowel acquires an umlaut. Which ones exactly? There are many short adjectives - consisting of one syllable:

arm – ä rmer – am ä rmsten
jung – jü nger – am jü ngsten

3. Comparatively, adjectives that end in -el and -er lose e:

dunkel – dunkl er – am dunkelsten
teuer – teur er – am teuersten

And that's it now. Once you practice a little, you will remember it very quickly, not like this one from German grammar.

Some comparative designs

With this topic, it is immediately worth considering comparative proposals.
For example: this book is more interesting than that one, but this blanket is as warm as that one...

Remember the following formulas:

Same = so…wie (adjective does not change)

Not the same (bigger, better, more beautiful) ≠ als... (adjective change: takes on comparative degree: adjective + er)

Berlin ist größer als Hannover. – Berlin is bigger than Hannover.
Hannover ist so groß wie Leipzig. – Hannover is the same as Leipzig.

We will consider comparative proposals and designs in more detail in a separate article, but for now this is enough 🙂 Good luck!

There are two degrees (degrees) of comparison of adjectives (adj.) in German: comparative and superlative. The basic form is positive step: schön – schöner – am schönsten (beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful); jung – jünger – am jüngsten (young – younger – youngest).

Comparative step. is the form that indicates the difference. After adj. in a comparative degree stands als (wie can only stand after an adj. in the usual degree). The comparative degree is formed using the suffix –er: Er springt höher als sein Bruder. – He jumps higher than his brother. Er springt so hoch wie sein Bruder. — He jumps as high as his brother.

Comparative step. as a definition it has the suffix –er and the ending depending on the type of declension: Heute ist der stärkere Wind. - The wind is stronger today. Eine ältere Schwester - older sister.

Comparative step. only the suffix –er serves as a circumstance: In Hamburg regnet es stärker als in Hannover. – It rains more in Hamburg than in Hannover.

To strengthen the comparison adverbs are used: viel (many), weit (far), bedeutend (considerably, much) and others: Er ist viel jünger, als ich gedacht habe. – He is much younger than I thought.

To weaken the comparison they use adverbs: etwas (several, a little), ein wenig (a little) and others: Dieses Auto ist etwas billiger. – This car is somewhat cheaper.

Excellent step. means the highest level according to the situation and is always used with the definite article. Excellent step. formed using the suffix – (e)st: stark – am stärksten (strong – strongest); schwach - am schwächsten (weak - the weakest).

Excellent step. as a definition it has a suffix - (e)st and an ending depending on the type of declension adj. in German: der längste Tag des Jahres - the longest day of the year, die wichtigste Prüfung - the most important exam.

Predicative superlative step. always formed with am... sten: Toni war in unserer Classe am höchsten. – Tony was the tallest in our class.

Some monosyllabic adjs. with the root vowel a, o, u get an umlaut:

Lang – lä nger – lä ngst-, am lä ngsten long – longer – the longest

Alt – ä lter – ä ltest -, am ä ltesten old – older – the oldest

Jung – jü nger – jü ngst-, am jü ngsten young – younger – the youngest

Dumm – dü mmer – dü mmst-, am dü mmsten stupid – stupider – the stupidest

Without umlaut remain adj. with the diphthong au and adj. indicated in the example: blank - brilliant, brav - good, bunt - colorful, froh - happy, falsch - incorrect, flach - flat, hohl - empty, kahl - bare, klar - clear, knapp - close , matt - matte, platt - flat, plump - rough, rasch - fast, roh - raw, sanft - soft, satt - well-fed, schlaff - sluggish, schlank - slender, starr - motionless, stolz - proud, stumpf - stupid, toll – crazy, voll – full.

Some adj. form a steppe. comparisons are wrong:

Hoch – höher – höchst-, am höchsten high – above – the highest

Nah – näher – nächst-, am nächsten close – closer – nearest

Gut – besser – best-, am besten good – better – the best

Adj. on -d, -t, -tz, -z, -sch, -ss, -ß form a superlative with –est:

sanft – sanfter – sanftest-, am sanftesten soft – softer – the softest

süß – süßer – süßest-, am süßesten sweet – sweeter – the sweetest

I.G. Knyazeva, German language teacher, MBOU Secondary School No. 15 Art. Rogovskaya

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in German

In German, as in Russian, adjectives have three degrees of comparison. These are positive (der Positiv), comparative (der Komparativ) and superlative (der Superlativ).
The comparative degree is formed by adding a suffix - er to the base of the adjective, and the superlative - to the suffix - st . It should be remembered that superlatives have two forms:

1) indeclinable, which is also formed using the ending -en and the preposition am: (klein - am kleinsten);
2) the inflected, which receives the same endings as the superlative adjective when inflected, always used with the definite article (der schöne Tag - der schönste Tag), (die breite Straße - die breiteste Straße), (das alte Märchen - das älteste Märchen).

Most monosyllabic adjectives in German with the root vowel a, o, u receive an umlaut when forming the comparative and superlative degrees ( alt -ä lter - am ä ltesten , gro ß- gr öß er - am gr öß ten ).

Special forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives in German
Some adjective adverbs form degrees of comparison incorrectly. These forms should be memorized.

The following adjectives do not have a comparative degree :
der äuβere - der äuβerste
der hintere - der hinterste
der untere - der unterste
der innere - der innerste
der obere - der oberste
der vordere - der vorderste

When comparing the qualities of two objects (persons), they are used to a positive degree. unions wie (How), ebenso … wie , genauso … wie (as well as).
Er ist ebenso groß wie du.
And when comparing two objects (persons), the conjunction als is used in a comparative degree.
Er ist größer als du.
An adjective in the comparative degree of the German language can be strengthened by the adverbs noch, immer, viel:
Das Kind wird ) immer kräftiger (more and more).
n och (even stronger).
Das Kind ist jetzt viel ( much ) kräftiger als im vorigen Jahre .
Adverb mehr never comes before the comparative degree.

Peter und sein Opa haben Motorräder gern. In den 40er Jahre war Opas Motorrad das (teuer) und (schnell). Die Straße waren damals viel (schlecht) als heute. Der Benzin war aber nicht (billig).
Peters Maschine ist (klein) als Opas Motorrad, sie ist auch (billig), aber sie ist (schnell). Und sie verbracht auch nicht mehr Benzin, sie ist die (schön). So sagt Peter.