After much deliberation, I decided to keep doing the 3 Minuten Deutsch series. Some people enjoy this series and I think there is a lot that you can still learn from it. In keeping with the theme from the previous several videos in this series, this video is about adjectives. Since I have already covered all of the endings that you will need in order to use adjectives with nouns, this video is talking about how to form some specific types of adjectives, comparative and superlative. For a quick overview of this topic, you can watch the video embedded below. For a more in depth look at this topic, you can scroll further and see that. If you want a worksheet for this topic, you can get that by supporting me on Patreon.
Adjectives without Nouns
If you want to form the comparative of an adjective that is used at the end of the sentence without a noun after it, you simply add -er to the end of the adjective. You need the preposition "an" in front of the superlative form of the adjective. Since this preposition requires the dative case when it is used like this, we contract the preposition "an" and the definite article "dem" to make the word "am". The adjective itself gets the ending "-sten" to indicate the superlative form.
Regular Examples
schnell - schneller - am schnellsten = fast - faster - the fastest
schön - schöner - am schönsten = pretty - prettier - the prettiest
langweilig - langweiliger - am langweiligsten = boring - more boring - the most boring
vorsichtig - vorsichtiger - am vorsichtigsten = careful - more careful - the most careful
schwierig - schwieriger - am schwierigsten = difficult - more difficult - the most difficult
Add -e
If an adjective ends with s, ß, z, d, or t, you need to add an -e between the adjective and the -sten in the superlative form. The comparative form is not affected by this rule as there is already an "e" in that form.
weis - weiser - am weisesten = wise - wiser - the wisest
heiß - heißer - am heißesten = hot - hotter - the hottest
kurz - kürzer - am kürzesten = short - shorter - the shortest
blöd - blöder - am blödesten = stupid - stupider - the stupidest
schlecht - schlechter - am schlechtesten = bad - worse - the worst
Add an Umlaut
If the adjective has only one syllable, you usually have to add an umlaut, if the vowel can take an umlaut.
arm - ärmer - am ärmsten = poor - poorer - the poorest
dumm - dümmer - am dümmsten = dumb - dumber - the dumbest
hart - härter - am härtesten = hard - harder - the hardest
jung - jünger - am jüngsten = young - younger - the youngest
kalt - kälter - am kältesten = cold - colder - the coldest
klug - klüger - am klügstsen = smart - smarter - the smartest
Exceptions to the Umlaut Rule
brav - braver - am bravsten = well-behaved - better behaved - the best behaved
froh - froher - am frohesten = happy - happier - the happiest
krumm - krummer - am krummsten = crooked - more crooked - the most crooked (some regions do use the umlaut for this adjective)
Irregular adjectives
bald - eher - am ehesten = soon - sooner - the soonest
gern - lieber - am liebsten = like - prefer - favorite (difficult to translate as one word, as these are used mostly as adverbs and don't have a direct equivalent in English)
gut - besser - am besten = good - better - the best
hoch - höher - am höchsten = high - higher - the highest (only the comparative form is irregular)
nah - näher - am nächsten = near - nearer - the nearest/next (only the superlative form is irregular)
viel - mehr - am meisten = much - more - the most
As... as
In English we use the combination of "as... as" to show that two things are the same amount of something. In German we use the combination of "so... wie". In both languages the positive form of the adjective (base form) goes between the two parts.
Diese Milch ist so warm wie mein Badewasser. - This milk is as warm as my bathwater.
Dieser Junge ist so dumm wie ein Stein. - This boy is as dumb as a stone.
Dieses Baby ist so stark wie mein Hund. - This baby is as strong as my baby.
Die Frau isst so schnell wie mein Hund. - The woman is eating as fast as my dog.
Than
In English there is a great deal of confusion with the difference between "then" and "than". This is one of the things that really bothers me when reading online comments in English, but luckily, we don't have this issue in German. In German we just use the word "als" where we would usually use "than" in English.
Diese Milch ist wärmer als mein Badewasser. - This milk is warmer than my bathwater.
Dieser Junge ist dümmer als ein Stein. - This boy is dumber than a stone.
Dieses Baby ist stärker als mein Hund. - This baby is stronger than my dog.
Die Frau isst schneller als mein Hund. - The woman is eating faster than my dog.
Superlative Examples
I felt bad that there were examples specifically for the positive (base form) and comparative forms of adjectives, but there weren't any for the superlative form. I thought I would remedy that by using these examples.
Diese Milch ist am wärmsten. - This milk is the warmest.
Dieser Junge ist am dümmsten. - This boy is the dumbest.
Dieses Baby ist am stärksten. - This baby is the strongest.
Die Frau isst am schnellsten. - The woman eats the fastest.
Adjectives with Nouns
As you have learned in other videos and blog posts in this series, adjectives take different endings depending upon the case and gender of the noun that they follow. This is still true when you use a comparative or superlative adjective. Now you have two endings one after the other. The first ending shows you the comparative or superlative form of the adjective. The second ending shows you the case and gender of the noun that follows. Since this doesn't really make sense to continue in the same way as the previous examples, I will show you these in sentences using the various German cases.
Ich mag die attraktivere Frau nicht so sehr, denn sie ist auch die nervigere Frau. - I don't like the more attractive woman, because she is also the more annoying woman.
Dieses bequemere Sofa ist teurer als das härtere Sofa. - This more comfortable sofa is more expensive than the harder sofa.
Der reichste Mann kauft seiner schönen Frau die teuersten Diamanten. - The richest man buys his beautiful wife the most expensive diamonds.
Man soll den besten Käse mit dem besten Wein essen. - One should eat the best cheese with the best wine.
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