Comparative and superlative forms in German

In German, just like in English, adjectives can have comparative and superlative forms. These forms are used to compare and describe the degree of an adjective. In this introduction, I will explain how to form comparative and superlative forms in German.

Predicate and attributive adjectives use the same base-form in the positive (1st) degree, e.g. groß. But then the attributive adjective will also have a declension, e.g. -e → große. 

Both predicate & attributive adjectives also form the comparative (2nd) degree the same way: by adding -er (and occasionally umlauting the stem-vowel), e.g. größer and größere. Again, the difference here is just the added declension on the attributive adjective.

The superlative degree is formed by adding -st (and occasionally umlauting the stem-vowel). But then the predicate vs. attributive tracks make some additional changes. 

The best way to teach you when to use comparative and superlative adjective forms is to simply run you through a lot of examples (<– coming right up!).

As for the how to use these 2nd & 3rd degree adjective forms … well, I’ll start by pointing out what’s happening in the various examples I’m going to show you:

Remember that these forms can change based on the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify. Practice using them in sentences to familiarize yourself with their usage.