Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly form comparative and superlative adjectives in German, including the genuinely important umlaut change some adjectives undergo.
Lesson Explanation
Most German adjectives form the comparative by adding -er, and the superlative with am + adjective + -sten:
klein → kleiner → am kleinsten (small → smaller → smallest) A genuinely important, specific detail connecting to Part 1, Lesson 1: many one-syllable adjectives with a, o, or u add an umlaut in the comparative and superlative: alt → älter → am ältesten (old → older → oldest).
A few genuinely irregular forms must be memorized directly: gut → besser → am besten (good → better → best), viel → mehr → am meisten (much → more → most).
Practice Questions
1. How is the comparative typically formed?
View Answer
Adding -er.
2. How is the superlative typically formed?
View Answer
am + adjective + -sten.
3. Write the comparative of “klein” (small).
View Answer
kleiner
4. Write the superlative of “klein.”
View Answer
am kleinsten
5. What earlier lesson introduced umlauts?
View Answer
Part 1, Lesson 1.
6. Write the comparative of “alt” (old), including the umlaut change.
View Answer
älter
7. Write the superlative of “alt.”
View Answer
am ältesten
8. What is the irregular comparative of “gut” (good)?
View Answer
besser
9. What is the irregular superlative of “gut”?
View Answer
am besten
10. What is the irregular comparative of “viel” (much)?
View Answer
mehr
11. What is the irregular superlative of “viel”?
View Answer
am meisten
12. Do all one-syllable adjectives with a, o, or u add an umlaut in the comparative, or only some?
View Answer
Many, but this must be learned per adjective, not as an absolute universal rule.