Comparative and Superlative Adjectives and Adverbs

By Vaikundamoni / September 30, 2016

Maria läuft so schnell wie Susanne. Friederike läuft schneller als Maria. Friederike läuft am schnellsten. Sie ist die schnellste Läuferin.

Positive degree

This is the unmodified adjective.

Ich bin müde I am tired

The comparative of equality and inferiority is formed with the positive degree:

Comparative of equality

Clauses of equality are formed with this construction: so + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Peter ist so dünn wie Tomas Peter is as thin as Tomas

or with the construction: gleich + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Peter ist gleich ungelenk wie Tomas Peter is as clumsy as Tomas

A very common usage is for comparing quantities of something. The structure is: so + viel + NON-COUNT NOUN + wie / so + viele + COUNT NOUN + wie

Ich habe so viel Geld wie du I have as much money as you

Ich habe so viele Autos wie du I have as many cars as you

Comparative of inferiority

The comparative of inferiority’s structure is: nicht so + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Du bist nicht so intelligent wie ich You’re not as intelligent as me

Comparative degree

The comparative degree is for constructing the comparative of superiority. The comparative grade is formed generally by adding “er” to the adjective:

intelligent ➜ intelligenter intelligent ➜ more intelligent

Comparative of superiority

The comparative of superiority is formed with the construction: ADJECTIVE IN COMPARATIVE DEGREE + als

Er ist stärker als ich He is stronger than me

Peter ist dünner als Tomas Peter is thinner than Tomas

Forming the comparative degree (special cases)

• If the adjective ends with “-e”, one “-r” is added (the “-e” is not doubled)

müde ➜ müder tired ➜ more tired

feige ➜ feiger cowardly ➜ more cowardly

• de + “-er”.

teuer ➜ teurer expensive ➜ more expensive

dunkel ➜ dunkler dark ➜ darker

• If the adjective ends with “-er”, it can be formed regularly with + “-er” or, like the previous case, by losing the last “-e” + “-er”.

  lecker ➜ leckerer / leckrer delicious➜ more delicious

  sauber ➜ sauberer / saubrer clean ➜ cleaner

• If an adjective is a monosyllable, an “Umlaut” ( ¨ ) + “er” is added (usually with vowels a, o, y and u). This also happens with the superlative degree.

krank ➜ kränker sick ➜ sicker

Comparative of inferiority

The comparative of inferiority is formed with the construction: weniger + ADJECTIVE + als

Er ist weniger intelligent als ich He is less intelligent than me

Superlative degree

• The superlative with the structure:am + Adjective in positive degree + -sten Whenever the adjective does not accompany a noun:

Welches Auto ist am billigsten? Which car is the cheapest?

• If an adjective is monosyllabic (just one syllable), with vowels a, o, y and u, an “Umlaut” ( ¨ ) + “-sten” is added.This also happens in the comparative degree.

krank ➜ am kränksten sick ➜ sickest

• When the adjective ends with one of the consonants: “-d”, “-t”, “-s”, “-ß”, “-sch”, “-x” or “-z” an “-e-” is added between the adjective in the positive degree and the ending “-sten.”

seriös ➜ am seriösesten serious ➜ the most serious

süß ➜ am süßesten sweet ➜ the sweetest

There are some exceptions as in:

dringend ➜ am dringendsten urgent ➜ the most urgent

neidisch ➜ am neidischsten jealous ➜ the most jealous

groß ➜ am größten tall ➜ the tallest

Attributive Adjective. Superlative without ‘am’

A frequent concern is about when to use am in the superlative and when not to. If the adjective is accompanied by a noun (the attributive form) am is not used. Example:

Tata Nano ist das billigste Auto der Welt Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world

Irregular adjectives

The following adjectives form the comparative and superlative irregularly:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative	Meaning
gut	besser	am besten	good, better, the best
viel	mehr	am meisten	much, more, the most
gern	lieber	am liebsten	gladly, preferably, most preferably
hoch	höher	am höchsten	high, higher, highest
nahe	näher	am nächsten	near, nearer, nearest

Comparisons in German generally work in a way that is similar to English. An Austrian brewery advertises its Gösser beer brand with the slogan: “gut, besser, Gösser” (“good, better, Gösser”). The German edition of Reader’s Digest is known as Das Beste (…aus Reader’s Digest). To form the comparative for most adjectives or adverbs in German you simply add -er, as inneu/neuer (new/newer) or klein/kleiner (small/smaller). For the superlative, English uses the -est ending, the same as in German except that German often drops the e and usually adds an adjective ending: (der) neueste (the newest) or (das) kleinste (the smallest). Unlike English, however, German never uses “more” (mehr) with another modifier to form the comparative. In English something may be “more beautiful” or someone could be “more intelligent.” But in German these are both expressed with the -er ending: schöner andintelligenter. So far, so good. But unfortunately German also has some irregular comparisons, just as English does.

Sometimes these irregular forms are quite similar to those in English. Compare, for instance, the English good/better/best with the German gut/besser/am besten. On the other hand, high/higher/highest is hoch/höher/am höchsten in German. But there are only a few of these irregular forms, and they are easy to learn, as you can see below.

Irregular Adjective/Adverb Comparison
POSITIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
bald (soon)	eher (sooner)	am ehesten (soonest)
gern (gladly)	lieber (more gladly)	am liebsten (most gladly)
groß (big)	größer (bigger)	am größten (biggest) der/die/das größte
gut (good)	besser (better)	am besten (best) der/die/das beste
hoch (high)	höher (higher)	am höchsten (highest) der/die/das höchste
nah (near)	näher (nearer)	am nächsten (nearest) der/die/das nächste
viel (much)	mehr (more)	am meisten (most) die meisten

There is one more irregularity that affects both the comparative and superlative of many German adjectives and adverbs: the added umlaut ( ¨ ) over a, o, or u in most one-syllable adjectives/adverbs. Below are some examples of this kind of comparison. Exceptions (do not add an umlaut) include bunt (colorful), falsch (wrong), froh (merry), klar (clear), laut (loud), and wahr(true).

Irregular Comparison – Umlaut Added Examples
POSITIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
dumm (dumb)	dümmer (dumber)	am dümmsten (dumbest) der/die/das dümmste
kalt (cold)	kälter (colder)	am kältesten* (coldest) der/die/das kälteste*
*Note the “connecting” e in the superlative: kälteste
klug (smart)	klüger (smarter)	am klügsten (smartest) der/die/das klügste
lang (long)	länger (longer)	am längsten (longest) der/die/das längste
stark (strong)	stärker (stronger)	am stärksten (strongest) der/die/das stärkste
warm (warm)	wärmer (warmer)	am wärmsten (warmest) der/die/das wärmste

In order to use the comparative forms above and to express relative comparisons or equality/inequality (“as good as” or “not as tall as”) in German, you also need to know the following phrases and formulations using als, so-wie, or je-desto:

• mehr/größer/besser als = more/bigger/better than
• (nicht) so viel/groß/gut wie = (not) as much/big/good as
• je größer desto besser = the bigger/taller the better

Below are a few sample sentences to show how the positive, comparative, and superlative forms are used in German.

ENGLISH	DEUTSCH
My sister is not as tall as I am.	Meine Schwester ist nicht so groß wie ich.
His Audi is much more expensive than my VW.	Sein Audi ist viel teurer als mein VW.
We prefer to travel by train.	Wir fahren lieber mit der Bahn.
Karl is the oldest. Karl is oldest.	Karl ist der Älteste. Karl ist am ältesten.
The more people, the better.	Je mehr Leute, desto besser.
He likes to play basketball, but most of all he likes to play soccer.	Er spielt gern Basketball, aber am liebsten spielt er Fußball.
The ICE [train] travels/goes the fastest.	Der ICE fährt am schnellsten.
Most people don’t drive as fast as he does.	Die meisten Leute fahren nicht so schnell wie er.

Difference between “wie” and “als” (wie vs als)

An additional explanation. “Wie” will be used for the comparative of equality, while “als” will be used for the comparative of superiority. The comparison of adjectives in English: To form the comparative of an adjective, English adds -er to shorter words (“prettier”) or places more in front of more complicated ones (“more beautiful”). To form the superlative of an adjective, English adds -est (“prettiest”) or uses most (“most beautiful”). To form the comparative of an adverb, English adds -er to those that do not end in -ly (“faster”) and places more in front of those that do end in -ly (“more quickly”). To form the superlative of an adverb, English adds -est to those that do not end in -ly (“fastest”) and places most in front of those that do (“most quickly”). The comparison of adjectives and adverbs in German: No matter how long the adjective or adverb, German always adds -er (“schöner”, “interessanter”). Never use mehr for this purpose. Adjective endings follow the -er. Of course, adverbs and predicate adjectives take no endings.

Wir haben den süßeren Wein bestellt.

We ordered the sweeter wine.

Die schlankere Frau ist nicht unbedingt die attraktivere.

The slimmer woman isn’t necessarily the more attractive one.

Er fährt schneller, wenn es nicht regnet.

He drives faster when it isn’t raining.

Sie steht ziemlich links, aber ihr Mann ist konservativer.

She’s pretty left-wing, but her husband’s more conservative.

 To form the superlative, German always adds -st or -est. Other than the few exceptions mentioned below, superlative adjectives always require a further ending:

Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist die Schönste im ganzen Land?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?

Wir haben den trockensten Wein bestellt.

We ordered the driest wine.

Die schlankste Frau ist nicht unbedingt die attraktivste.

The slimmest woman isn’t necessarily the most attractive one.

The superlative forms of adverbs or predicate adjectives take the form of “am -sten:”

Er singt am lautesten.	He sings the loudest.
Ich bin am glücklichsten, wenn ich allein bin.	I’m happiest when I’m alone.

Some superlative forms of adverbs can end in “-stens” (without “am”):

Wir essen meistens in der Küche.	We mostly eat in the kitchen.
Ich bin bestens versorgt.	I’m very well provided for.
Hunde sind hier strengstens verboten.	Dogs are strictly forbidden here.
Ihr Wagen wird frühestens Mittwoch fertig sein.	Your car will be ready on Wednesday at the earliest.

The basic forms:

Positive

Comparative

Superlative

or

klein	kleiner	am kleinsten	der/die/das kleinste
intelligent	intelligenter	am intelligentesten	der/die/das intelligenteste

Some adjectives, almost always monosyllabic, add an umlaut. Here are some of the more common ones:  

alt	älter	am ältesten	old
arm	ärmer	am ärmsten	poor
dumm	dümmer	am dümmsten	stupid
gesund	gesünder	am gesündesten	healthy
grob	gröber	am gröbsten	coarse
groß	größer	am größten	large
hart	härter	am härtesten	hard
jung	jünger	am jüngsten	young
kalt	kälter	am kältesten	cold
klug	klüger	am klügsten	smart
kurz	kürzer	am kürzesten	short
lang	länger	am längsten	long
oft	öfter	am öftesten	often
scharf	schärfer	am schärfsten	sharp; spicy
schwach	schwächer	am schwächsten	weak
schwarz	schwärzer	am schwärzesten	black
stark	stärker	am stärksten	strong
warm	wärmer	am wärmsten	warm

Several other adjectives may or may not take an umlaut (It’s up to the speaker, but in most cases the umlaut is unusual):

blaß	pale	fromm	pious	glatt	slick	krank	sick
naß	wet	rot	red	schmal	narrow

	Dining Hall Orientation. Our gastronomic traffic light: [red] Preferably infrequently! Best combined with green. [yellow] A good choice! Take repeatedly! [green] The best choice! The more often, the better!

Some adjectives or adverbs change their stems in other ways, as well:

bald	eher	am ehesten	soon
gern	lieber	am liebsten	“gladly”
gut	besser	am besten	good
hoch	höher	am höchsten	high
nah	näher	am nächsten	near
viel	mehr	am meisten	much

	Already today we’re looking forward to your next visit

	Mr. 1000 Parts – Berlin’s best-known spare parts store for electric household appliances

Adjectives ending in -el or -er normally drop the -e- before the comparartive -er:  

dunkler	darker
teurer	more expensive

Adjectives ending in -d, -t, -s, -ß, -sch, or -z usually add -est:  

am breitesten	the widest
am kürzesten	the shortest
am weißesten	the whitest

Exceptions: “am größten” (the biggest) and adjectives formed from present participles: “am entgenkommendsten” (the most accommodating).

	Unsliced cheese simply tastes better. Our tip! for it has a fresher and fuller taste, can be used in more ways, and doesn’t dry out as fast

Using “als” and “wie” in making comparisons:

Ich bin so gut wie du.	I’m as good as you.
Es ist nicht so warm wie gestern.	It’s not as warm as yesterday.
Das ist genauso dumm wie dein letzter Vorschlag.	That’s just as stupid as your last suggestion.
Du bist ebenso laut wie ich.	You’re just as loud as I am.
Sie ist älter als ihr Bruder.	She is older than her brother.
Ein Pferd kann schneller laufen als ein Mensch.	A horse can run faster than a human.

Note: Many Germans use “wie” instead of “als” (“Ich bin besser wie du”), but this construction is considered to be bad grammar. Even speakers who do it themselves will correct a foreigner who makes this mistake. Intensifiers: to indicate a progressive development, English repeats the comparative (“Things are getting better and better”). German can do that (“Es wird kälter und kälter”) or, more usually, use “immer”: “Es wird immer besser.”

	The world is moving faster and faster

Similar to English’s “The more the merrier,” German employs “Je mehr, desto besser.”

	The faster you’re on the information highway, the better wired you are to your customers

To prefer / like best:

Ich gehe gern ins Theater	I like to go to the theater.	Ich habe Weißwein gern.	I like white wine.
Ich gehe lieber ins Kino.	I prefer to go to the movies.	Ich habe Rotwein lieber.	I prefer red wine.
Ich gehe am liebsten ins Konzert.	I most like to go to concerts.	Ich habe Sekt am liebsten.	I like champagne best.

mehr or eher can be used to compare two qualities of the same person or thing:

Der Film ist mehr interessant als unterhaltend.	The film is more interesting than entertaining.
Deine Witze sind eher traurig als witzig.	Your jokes are more sad than funny.
Das ist eher möglich.	That’s more likely.
Eher geht ein Kamel durch ein Nadelöhr, als dass ein Reicher in den Himmel kommt.	It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.

eher can also mean “rather; preferably”:

Ich gehe eher ins Theater.	I prefer to go to the theater.
Eher hungere ich.	I’d rather starve.

To express the notion of “favorite,” use the prefix Lieblings-:

Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist blau.	My favorite color is blue.
Wenn mein Vater spazieren geht, ist sein Lieblingsziel die Kneipe an der Ecke.	When my father goes for a walk, the pub on the corner is his favorite destination.

aller- intensifies a superlative:

Das habe ich am allerliebsten.	I like that best of all.
Er arbeitet am allerschwersten.	He works the hardest of all.

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives have all the possibilities of the positive forms. They can modify nouns or form the basis of adjectival nouns. Logically, however, a superlative cannot of course follow an indefinite article (“ein höchster Berg” [a highest mountain]). Some examples:

“Ich bin der Größte!”	“I am the greatest!”
Der teuerste Wagen gehört meinem älteren Bruder.	The most expensive car belongs to my older brother.
Sie hat einen noch besseren Freund gefunden.	She found an even better boyfriend.
Eine bessere Gelegenheit findest du nie.	You’ll never find a better opportunity.
Von ihren Kindern ist das Jüngste am intelligentesten.	Of her children, the youngest is the most intelligent.

	Driving School… Also for “older people,” beginners, and “scaredy-cats” Training for licenses B, BE (passenger cars), also automatic shift

Similarly, the comparative and superlative forms of adverbs act like the positive forms. Some examples:

Ich würde das lieber früher als später hören.	I’d rather hear that earlier than later.
Wir arbeiten hier seit längerer Zeit.	We’ve been working here for some time.
Wie komme ich am besten in die Stadt?	What’s the best way into town?
Ein älterer Herr hat mir geholfen.	An older gentleman helped me.

	For Mother’s Day give a piece of love! Selected praline-creations from the finest chocol

	Cool story. Cool music. Cool thing. Beyond the Horizon – the Musical

German puts endings on articles, adjectives that precede nouns, and, occasionally on the nouns themselves in order to mark gender, case, and number. (The four cases, thenominative, accusative, dative, and genitive, are discussed elsewhere). Examples of the endings:

	A strong back knows no pain.

 

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Plural

 

nom.	der rote Stuhl	die neueLampe	das alte Buch	die roten Stühle
	* kein roterStuhl	keine neueLampe	* kein altesBuch	keine neuenLampen
	roter Stuhl	neue Lampe	altes Buch	alte Bücher

acc.	den roten Stuhl	die neue Lampe	das alte Buch	die roten Stühle
	keinen roten Stuhl	keine neue Lampe	* kein altes Buch	keine neuen Lampen
	roten Stuhl	neue Lampe	altes Buch	alte Bücher

dat.	dem roten Stuhl	der neuen Lampe	dem alten Buch	den roten Stühlen
	rotem Stuhl	neuer Lampe	altem Buch	alten Büchern

gen.	des roten Stuhles	der neuen Lampe	des alten Buches	der roten Stühle
	roten Stuhles	neuer Lampe	alten Buches	alter Büche

	The Palace. One of the first addresses for your exclusive rental desires.

There are also a number of “weak nouns” that take an “-n” (or “-en”) in all cases but the nominative. Some examples:

nom. acc. dat. gen.	der Mensch den Menschen dem Menschen des Menschen [human]	der Nachbar den Nachbarn dem Nachbarn des Nachbarn [neighbor]	der Herr den Herrn dem Herrn des Herrn [lord; gentleman]	der Held den Helden dem Helden des Helden [hero]
nom. acc. dat. gen.	der Bote den Boten dem Boten des Boten [messenger]	der Kunde den Kunden dem Kunden des Kunden [customer]	der Junge den Jungen dem Jungen des Jungen [boy]	der Experte den Experten dem Experten des Experten [expert]
nom. acc. dat. gen.	der Jude den Juden dem Juden des Juden [Jew]	der Russe den Russen dem Russen des Russen [Russian]	der Kollege den Kollegen dem Kollegen des Kollegen [colleague]	der Riese den Riesen dem Riesen des Riesen [giant]

A number of weak nouns have the suffixes “-ant”, “-arch”, “-ege”, “-ent”, “-ist”, “-oge”, “-om”, “-oph”, and “-ot”. Some examples:  

der Buddist [Buddhist]	der Katholik [Catholic]	der Protestant [Protestant]	der Pilot [pilot]
der Student [student]	der Komödiant [comedian]	der Astronom [astronomer]	der Patriarch [patriarch]
der Philosoph [philosopher]	der Fotograf [photographer]	der Enthusiast [enthusiast]	der Anthropologe [anthropologist]

Note that all of these nouns are masculine. Furthermore, their plural forms are the same as their accusative, dative, and genitive singular forms: e.g., den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten; [plural:] die Studenten, den Studenten, der Studenten. (“Herr” is an exception: den Herrn, dem Herrn, des Herrn; [plural:] die Herren, den Herren, der Herren). A few weak nouns add “-ns” in the genitive, for example:

nom. acc. dat. gen.

der Glaube den Glauben dem Glauben des Glaubens [belief]

der Wille den Willen dem Willen des Willens [will]

der Gedanke den Gedanken dem Gedanken des Gedankens [thought]

der Name den Namen dem Namen des Namens [name]

One neuter noun is also weak in the dative and takes an “-ens” in the genitive

nom. acc. dat. gen.

das Herz das Herz dem Herzen des Herzens [heart]

Uninflected adjectives: Predicate adjectives, like adverbs, take no endings:  

Das Haus ist schön.	The house is beautiful.
Alles bleibt ruhig.	Everything remains quiet.

With the exception of ein (one”), cardinal numbers take no endings:

Ich habe eine Schwester und einen Bruder.	I have one sister and one brother.
Ich habe drei Schwestern.	I have three sisters.

	The best solution? Every second person has already found it. Berliner Sparkasse [Berlin Savings Bank]. Every second Berliner is already our customer. Demand more.

Ordinal numbers, on the other hand, act like normal adjectives

Er ist der siebte Sohn eines siebten Sohnes.	He is the seventh son of a seventh son.
Das erste Mal ist immer schwierig.	The first time is always hard.
Der einunddreißigste Juni ist der letzte Tag des Finanzjahres.	The thirty-first of June is the last day of the financial year.

Adjectives formed from city names always end in “-er”, no matter what the number, gender, or case. They are also capitalized:  

das Münchner Bier	Munich beer
der Mainzer Dom	the Mainz Cathedral
die Berliner Modeschöpfer	the Berlin fashion designers
also: Schweizer Schokolade	Swiss chocolate

Adjectives that designate decades also end in “-er”:  

Brecht schrieb es in den zwanziger Jahren.	Brecht wrote it in the 20’s.
Die fünfziger Jahre waren die Zeit des Wirtschaftswunders.	The 50’s were the time of the “economic miracle.”

	As famous as a brightly-colored dog. [colloquial phrase]

A few adjectives that end in “-a” take no endings:  

Sie trägt ein lila Kleid.	She’s wearing a purple dress.
Sie trägt ein weißes Kleid mit rosa Schleifen.	She’s wearing a white dress with pink bows.
Das war eine prima Idee!	That was an excellent idea!

“genug” (enough), “super”, and “lauter” (unmixed, unalloyed) also take no endings:  

Es gibt genug Plätze hier.	There are enough seats here.
Du hast ein super Auto gekauft!	You’ve bought a fabulous car.
Das sind lauter Lügen.	Those are nothing but lies.

When preceding the name of a country or city and meaning “all of,” “ganz” takes no endings:

In ganz Deutschland ist es so.	That’s how it is in all of Germany.
Ganz Berlin feiert.	All of Berlin is celebrating.

When “voll” means “full,” it takes the usual endings, but when it means “full of”, it becomes“voller”, with no further endings:

Ich übernehme die volle Verantwortung.	I’ll take on the whole responsibility.
Er hatte einen Sack voller Geld.	He had a bag full of money.
Ich war voller Tatendrang.	I was full of a zest for action

	Berlin is full of contrasts. That’s one of our greatest strengths.

When “viel” and “wenig” are not preceded by articles, they take no endings in the singular.

Wir haben es mit viel Fleiß gemacht.	We did it with a lot of applied effort.
Er ist mit vielen Freunden gekommen.	He came with a lot of friends.
Du brauchst wenig Hilfe.	You don’t need much help.
Wenige Deutsche trinken gern amerikanischen Kaffee.	Few Germans like to drink American coffee

	(From Der Spiegel) A survey of 25,000 university graduates: why so many study the wrong thing.

Adjectival Nouns in English: Because English adjectives are uninflected, it is more difficult to make nouns out of them. One can talk about certain abstract concepts like the True or the Good, but in most cases, at least “one,” “thing,” or something like “man,” “woman,” or “guy” is required to create a noun phrase: “He’s an odd one.” “Let’s drink a cold one” [a beer]. “Have a good one” [a nice day]. “I did the wrong thing.” “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” “I’m talking about the fat guy.” It can be a little easier in the plural: “The rich are different.” “For ye have the poor always with you.” Adjectival Nouns in German: Because German adjective endings carry considerable information about case, gender, and number, the noun that they modify can sometimes seem redundant. When Germans refer to Ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl as der Dicke, they don’t need a further noun, since the der, followed by the -e ending on dick tells us that we are dealing with a single masculine subject (in the nominative case). So long as the context is clear, all that’s needed to make the noun is to capitalize the first letter. A number of such nouns constructed in this fashion have become conventional enough to be listed as dictionary entries in their own right. Some adjectives that become such nouns are “bekannt” [= acquainted], “angestellt” [= employed, hired], “verwandt” [=related], “erwachsen” [= grown-up], “heilig” [= holy], and “deutsch” [= German]:

	der Dicke

Sie ist eine gute Bekannte von mir.	She is a good acquaintance of mine.
Er ist ein Angestellter dieser Firma.	He is an employee of this company.
Meine Verwandten sind alle verrückt.	My relatives are all crazy.
Nur Erwachsene dürfen diesen Film sehen.	Only adults [grownups] are allowed to see this film.
Der Papst hat sie zur Heiligen erklärt.	The Pope declared her a saint.
Die Deutschen sind gern pünktlich.	Germans like to be punctual.

(Note that “German” is the only nationality designated by an adjectival noun.) Frequent usage has produced other conventions:

Ich möchte ein Helles.	I’d like a light beer [a pils].
Und ich nehme ein Dunkles.	And I’ll have a dark beer.
Heute fahren wir ins Blaue.	Today we’re driving into the wild, blue yonder.
Er traf ins Schwarze.	He hit the bull’s-eye.
Mein Alter geht mir auf den Wecker.	My old man [my father] gets on my nerves.
Meine Alte versteht gar nichts.	My old lady [my mother] doesn’t understand anything.

	Your parents will puke!

Plural adjectives of color represent members of particular political parties: e.g., “die Grünen” = the Greens; “die Roten” = SPD orPDS. The examples above are all in the nominative case, but the adjectival inflections hold true in the accusative, dative, and genitive, as well. Here are examples of “the old man,” “the rich woman,” “the Good”, “the poor [poor people]”:

Masculine

Feminine

Neuter

Plural

nom.	der Alte	die Reiche	das Gute	die Armen
	* ein Alter	eine Reiche	* kein Gutes	keine Armen
	Alter	Reiche	Gutes	Arme

acc.	den Alten	die Reiche	das Gute	die Armen
	einen Alten	eine Reiche	* ein Gutes	keine Armen
	Alten	Reiche	Gutes	Arme

dat.	dem Alten	der Reichen	dem Guten	den Armen
	Altem	Reicher	Gutem	Armen

gen.	des Alten	der Reichen	des Guten	der Armen
	Alten	Reicher	Guten	Armer

  Some of the forms in the above chart may seem hard to work into the conversation, but they do exist. Note the following:

Es hat keinen Zweck, Altes mit Altem zu ersetzen.

There’s no point in replacing old with old.

	Something light can be so delicious …

They are more apt to show up in the vocative:

Du Armer!

You poor fellow!

In the plural, however, there are some surprises, especially in the vocative:

Wir Grünen sind nicht so unrealistisch.	We Greens are not so unrealistic.
Ihr beiden seid echte Profis.	You both are real pros.

Germans also frequently say or write “ihr beide”, however. And, although “wir Grünen” and “ihr Grünen” are used more consistently, both “Sie Grünen” and “Sie Grüne” are possible. Go figure. Note that “beide” is not capitalized. The same is true for “andere”:

Wir beiden sind da, aber wo bleiben die anderen?	We’re both here, but where are the others?
Hast du etwas anderes zu sagen?	Do you have something else to say?
Ich komme mit den anderen.	I’ll come with the others.
Diese Tasse ist schmutzig. Ich hole eine andere.	This cup is dirty. I’ll fetch a different one.

The adjective may also be in lowercase when the impression is less of an adjective used as a noun than of a noun having been omitted:

Sie hat einen Weißwein bestellt, aber ich nehme einen roten.

She ordered a white wine, but I’ll take a red.

Es gibt wenig gute Schriftsteller, aber er gehört zu den besten.

There are few good writers, but he belongs to the best.

Compare this last example to the following:

	Only the best stay calm in difficult situations

 

	Friedrich der Große

	August der Starke

  Certain forms appear in apposition:

Friedrich der Große war König von Preußen.

Frederick the Great was the King of Prussia.

Kennst du August den Starken?

Do you know August the Strong?

Der Kaiser gab August dem Starken den Oberbefehl über die österreichischen Truppen.

The Emperor gave August the Strong command of the Austrian troops.

Sanssouci war das Sommerschloss Friedrichs des Großen.

Sanssouci was Frederick the Great’s summer palace.

A more common appositional structure is formed with the pronouns “etwas” or “nichts”

Ich will dir etwas Schönes zeigen.	I want to show you something beautiful.
Er führt nichts Gutes im Schilde.	He’s up to no good.
Wir reden von etwas Einmaligem.	We’re talking about something unique.

The adjectives “viel” and “wenig” sometimes look like pronouns, because they normally take no endings in the singular:

Wir haben wenig Interessantes zu berichten.	We have little of interest to report.
Ihr Boss hat viel Gutes über Sie gesagt.	Your boss said a lot of good things about you.
Seine Rede enthält wenig Wahres.	His speech contains little that is true.

Ordinal numbers act the same way as other adjectives:

	The best solution? Every second (person) has already found it. Berliner Sparkasse [Berlin Savings Bank]. Every second Berliner is already our customer. Demand more.

The possessive adjectives form nouns in the same way, except that they are not capitalized:

Ich sehe dein Fahrad, aber wo ist meins? Naja, ich fahre mit ihrem.

I see your bike, but where is mine? Oh well, I’ll take hers.

Er ist Deutscher, und ich bin auch einer.

He’s a German, and I’m one, too.

Sie ist eine Verwandte von mir, also bin ich eine von ihren.

She’s a relative of mine; thus I’m one of hers.

Es gibt mehrere reiche Länder in der Welt, und Deutschland ist eins von den reichsten.

There are several rich countries in the world, and Germany is one of the richest.

Especially when using adjectives that have been derived from present or past participles, it is possible to pack a great deal of information into the adjectival noun:

das Gefundene	that which has been found
die Gestorbene	the (female) deceased
ein Studierender	someone (male) who is studying
ein Studierter	someone (male) who has studied
die Betende	the praying woman
der Alternde	the aging man
das Werdende	that which is in the process of becoming
der Auserwählte	the chosen (male) one
das Unverhoffte	the unexpected
die Leidtragende	the (female) mourner

 

	Extravagance is the one true thing

The nominative masculine and neuter and the accusative neuter are different when the article is an “ein-word.” The articles in this category are ein, kein, and the possessive pronouns: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr, ihr The so-called “der-words” are the articles der, die, das, dies-, jed-, jen-, manch-, solch-, welch-.    ]]>