Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs and Plusquamperfekt

1. Introduction

This lesson covers two important topics in German grammar.

The first topic is the comparison of adjectives and adverbs. You need these forms to compare features, qualities, and actions.

The second topic is the Plusquamperfekt. It marks an action that happened before another action in the past.

I. Comparison of adjectives and adverbs

1. Basic rule

German adjectives and adverbs can have three degrees of comparison.

Example:

• klein - small
• kleiner - smaller
• am kleinsten / der kleinste - smallest / the smallest

2. Comparative degree: Komparativ

The comparative is usually formed with the suffix -er.

Examples:

• Der Hund ist klein. - The dog is small.
• Der Hund ist kleiner. - The dog is smaller.
• Diese Aufgabe ist schwer. - This task is difficult.
• Diese Aufgabe ist schwerer. - This task is more difficult.

3. Umlaut in the comparative

Many short adjectives with a, o, or u in the stem take an umlaut in the comparative.

• Mein Bruder ist älter. - My brother is older.
• Dieses Haus ist höher. - This house is higher.
• Der Weg ist kürzer. - The route is shorter.

4. Special stem changes

Some adjectives change their stem form when the comparative is formed.

• Der Raum ist dunkler. - The room is darker.
• Dieses Auto ist teurer. - This car is more expensive.
• Die Zitrone ist saurer. - The lemon is more sour.

5. Superlative degree: Superlativ

The superlative shows the highest degree of a quality.

German has two main superlative forms.

Unchanged form

This form is often used with adverbs and with adjectives without a noun.

• am kleinsten - smallest
• am ältesten - oldest
• am häufigsten - most often

• Diese Internetseite besucht man am häufigsten. - People visit this website most often.
• Dieser Weg ist am kürzesten. - This route is the shortest.

Declined form

This form is used before a noun. The ending depends on the noun phrase and the article.

• der kleinste Computer - the smallest computer
• das älteste Gebäude - the oldest building
• die schnellste Läuferin - the fastest female runner

• Das ist das älteste Gebäude in der Stadt. - That is the oldest building in the city.
• Das ist der kleinste Hund auf der Welt. - That is the smallest dog in the world.

6. Irregular comparison forms

Some words form their comparison forms in a special way. These forms need to be memorized.

• Er spricht gut Deutsch. - He speaks German well.
• Er spricht besser Deutsch. - He speaks German better.
• Er spricht am besten Deutsch. - He speaks German best of all.

• Ich trinke gern Tee. - I like drinking tea.
• Ich trinke lieber Kaffee. - I prefer drinking coffee.
• Am liebsten trinke ich Wasser. - I like drinking water most of all.

7. Comparing equal quality

If two things, people, or actions have the same quality, German uses this construction:

so / ebenso / genauso + Positiv + wie

• Er ist so groß wie ich. - He is as tall as I am.
• Dieses Zimmer ist genauso hell wie das andere Zimmer. - This room is just as bright as the other room.
• Sie läuft ebenso schnell wie ihr Bruder. - She runs as fast as her brother.

8. Negative comparison of equal quality

If the quality is not the same, German uses:

nicht so + Positiv + wie

• Es regnet nicht so oft wie im letzten Jahr. - It does not rain as often as last year.
• Dieses Buch ist nicht so teuer wie jenes Buch. - This book is not as expensive as that book.

9. Comparing different quality

If one thing, person, or action has a quality to a greater degree, German uses the comparative and the conjunction als.

Komparativ + als

• Liebe ist stärker als der Tod. - Love is stronger than death.
• Dieses Mädchen tanzt besser als ich. - This girl dances better than I do.
• Mein Bruder ist zwei Jahre älter als ich. - My brother is two years older than I am.
• Die Jacke ist zehn Euro teurer als die Hose. - The jacket is ten euros more expensive than the trousers.

10. Superlative with a group of people or things

If you want to show that one person or thing stands out within a group, German often uses a phrase with von or a genitive phrase.

• Er ist der älteste der Brüder. - He is the oldest of the brothers.
• Sie ist die schnellste von allen. - She is the fastest of all.
• Das ist das schönste von diesen Bildern. - That is the most beautiful of these pictures.

II. Plusquamperfekt

1. Introduction

Plusquamperfekt is a compound past tense.

It marks an action that happened before another action in the past.

A sentence often contains two past actions:

• the earlier action - Plusquamperfekt;
• the later action - often Präteritum or Perfekt.

2. Forming the Plusquamperfekt

The Plusquamperfekt is formed from two parts:

haben / sein in the Präteritum + Partizip II of the main verb

• ich hatte gemacht - I had done earlier
• ich war gekommen - I had come earlier

3. Plusquamperfekt with sein

The auxiliary verb sein is used with verbs of movement and verbs of change of state.

• Ich war nach Hause gekommen. - I had come home.
• Er war schon gegangen. - He had already left.
• Wir waren spät angekommen. - We had arrived late.

4. Plusquamperfekt with haben

The auxiliary verb haben is used with many transitive and intransitive verbs.

• Ich hatte meiner Tante geholfen. - I had helped my aunt.
• Sie hatte die Aufgabe gemacht. - She had done the task.
• Wir hatten den Text gelesen. - We had read the text.

5. Plusquamperfekt in a sentence

In a main clause, the auxiliary verb stands in second position. The Partizip II usually stands at the end.

Example:

Er hatte den Brief geschrieben. - He had written the letter.

Structure:

• Er - subject.
• hatte - auxiliary verb in the Präteritum.
• den Brief - object.
• geschrieben - Partizip II.

6. Plusquamperfekt and another action in the past

The Plusquamperfekt often shows that one action had already been completed before another past action.

• Als ich ihn anrief, war er schon nach Hause gekommen. - When I called him, he had already come home.
• Er erzählte mir, dass er seiner Tante geholfen hatte. - He told me that he had helped his aunt.
• Nachdem sie gegessen hatte, ging sie spazieren. - After she had eaten, she went for a walk.

What to remember

• German has three degrees of comparison: Positiv, Komparativ, and Superlativ.
• The comparative is often formed with -er: klein - kleiner.
• The superlative has two forms: am kleinsten and der kleinste Hund.
• For equal quality, use so / genauso / ebenso ... wie.
• For different quality, use Komparativ + als.
• The Plusquamperfekt is formed as hatte / war + Partizip II.
• The Plusquamperfekt marks an action that happened before another action in the past.