Reference · module 14
Bigger, best, the same
Everything this module explains, on one page.
größer als
Compare two things and say which one wins.
- German makes a comparative the short way, always: add -er. klein becomes kleiner, schnell becomes schneller. There is no more expensive, only teurer.
- Than is als, and it never changes: Berlin ist größer als Hamburg. One-syllable words often take an umlaut too: groß, größer; alt, älter; jung, jünger.
- Three are irregular and worth learning as words: gut, besser; viel, mehr; gern, lieber. They are also the three you will need most.
The mistake you are about to make
Das ist mehr interessant.
Das ist interessanter.
English switches to "more" once a word gets long — more interesting, more expensive. German never does: every adjective takes -er, however long it is.
am besten
Say which one is the best of all.
- The superlative has two shapes. On its own it is am -sten: Das ist am schönsten. It is the form to use after a verb.
- Before a noun it takes an article instead: der schönste Tag, die beste Idee. Same idea, different dress, and both are everyday German.
- gut, besser, am besten. viel, mehr, am meisten. gern, lieber, am liebsten. Three rows worth knowing by heart.
The mistake you are about to make
Das ist der meist schöne Tag.
Das ist der schönste Tag.
English reaches for "most" with longer words — the most beautiful day. German has no such escape hatch: the superlative is -ste whatever the length.
Adjectives before nouns
Put an adjective in front of a noun without freezing.
- After a verb an adjective takes no ending at all: Das Auto ist neu. This is the easy half and it never changes.
- In front of a noun it does take one. After der, die and das the ending is -e: der neue Wagen, die neue Idee, das neue Auto.
- In the plural, and after any dative, the ending is -en: die neuen Autos, mit dem neuen Auto. If in doubt in a real conversation, -en is the better guess.
The mistake you are about to make
der neu Wagen
der neue Wagen
English adjectives never change at all, so the bare form comes out every time. In front of a noun a German adjective always carries an ending — after der, die, das it is -e.
Saying what you think
Give an opinion and back it with a reason.
- Ich finde is the everyday way to open an opinion: Ich finde das gut. Ich denke and ich glaube work the same way and sound slightly more careful.
- Meiner Meinung nach means in my opinion, and nach comes after the noun here — one of the very few prepositions that does.
- To agree: Das stimmt or Genau. To disagree politely: Das sehe ich anders. Four words that keep a conversation open rather than ending it.
The mistake you are about to make
in meiner Meinung
meiner Meinung nach
English says "in my opinion", so a preposition will lead. German puts this one behind the noun: meiner Meinung nach — one of the few that work backwards.