I. Theory
The comparative is an adjectival form used when comparing two different objects. In English, comparatives are formed with the use of an -er suffix only if they have one or two syllables. Examples of the comparative include: “the smarter student” or “the older city”. In German, this -er suffix appears with all comparatives.| Berlin ist kleiner als New York. Berlin is smaller than New York. Wenn es regnet, fahre ich langsamer. When it is raining I drive more slowly. Welches Buch findest du interessanter? Which book do you find more interesting? |
II. Adjective Endings
After the -er suffix, the adjective endings are present if the comparative adjective comes before a noun or if the noun is implied.| - Welchen Wein möchtest du? - Which wine do you want? - Ich nehme den trockeneren (accusative). - I will take the drier (one). Der ältere Professor ist nicht unbedingt der konservativere (nominative). The older professor is not necessarily the more conservative (one). Wir haben das Projekt dem erfahreneren (dative) Übersetzer angeboten. We offered the project to the more experienced translator. |
III. Als
Als is a preposition used to compare two things. It can be translated as “than” in English. Anything coming after als remains in the nominative.| Heute ist es wärmer als gestern. Today, it is warmer than yesterday. Der BMW ist teurer als der Volvo. The BMW is more expensive than the Volvo. Russisch ist schwieriger als Deutsch. Russian is harder than German. |