schneller als dein Auto. (My car is faster than your car)
Superlative: To form the superlative, add “-ste» to the adjective stem, and use the form am… -sten if used before a noun. Often, there will be an umlaut if a vowel is present.
schnell (fast) -> am schnellsten (the fastest)
alt (old) -> am ältesten (the oldest)
groß (big) -> am größten (the biggest)
Mein Auto ist am schnellsten. (My car is the fastest.)
Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms
Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. Here are some of the most common:
gut (good) -> besser (better) -> am besten (the best)
viel (much/many) -> mehr (more) -> am meisten (the most)
gern (gladly) -> lieber (more gladly) -> am liebsten (most gladly)
Adverbs (Adverbien)
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They provide information about how, when, where, or to what extent something is done. Many adverbs are formed by taking the adjective and dropping the adjective ending.
Common Adverbs
Here are some common German adverbs:
sehr (zair) – very
schnell (shnel) – quickly, fast
langsam (lang-zahm) – slowly
oft (oft) – often
selten (zel-ten) – rarely
immer (im-mer) – always
nie (nee) – never
gern (gern) – gladly
hier (heer) – here
dort (dort) – there
Examples Using Adverbs
Er fährt sehr schnell. (air fairt zair shnel) – He drives very fast.
Sie spricht langsam. (zee shpriht lang-zahm) – She speaks slowly.
Ich gehe oft ins Kino. (ihh gay-e oft ins kee-no) – I often go to the cinema.
Wir lernen gern Deutsch. (veer ler-nen gern doitch) – We learn German gladly.
Das Haus ist dort. (das haus ist dort) – The house is there.
Word Order with Adverbs
Adverbs can often be placed in different positions in a sentence, depending on the emphasis you want to convey. However, adverbs of time often come before adverbs of place.
Word Bank
Adjektiv (at-yek-teef) – Adjective
Adverb (at-verp) – Adverb
gut (goot) – good
schön (shön) – beautiful
groß (grohs) – big
klein (klain) – small
schnell (shnel) – fast/quickly
langsam (lang-zahm) – slowly
sehr (zair) – very
Comparative (kom-pa-ra-teef) – Comparative
Superlative (zoo-per-la-teef) – Superlative
Exercises
Provide the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives: jung, interessant, teuer.
Fill in the blanks with the correct adjective ending (after the definite article) in the nominative case:
Der ______ (alt) Mann liest.
Die ______ (schön) Frau singt.
Das ______ (klein) Kind spielt.
Translate the following sentences into German, using adjectives and adverbs:
The big house is very expensive.
She speaks German well. (gut)
The old man walks slowly.
He is the fastest runner.
Rewrite the sentences in exercise 3 using the comparative form of the adjectives or adverbs, making a new comparative sentence.
Ex: «My house is bigger than yours»
Create five original sentences in German, using a variety of adjectives and adverbs, paying attention to adjective endings.
That completes Chapter 12! You now have a solid understanding of adjectives, their agreement with nouns, how to use them in comparative and superlative forms, and how to use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Chapter 13: Separable and Inseparable Verbs
Many German verbs consist of a prefix attached to a base verb. These verbs can be categorized as either separable or inseparable, and this distinction affects how they are used in sentences, especially in the present and past tenses. Understanding separable and inseparable verbs is essential for correct sentence structure.
Separable Verbs (Trennbare Verben)
Separable verbs have a prefix that separates from the base verb in main clauses in the present and past tenses. The prefix moves to the end of the clause.
Common Separable Prefixes:
Here are some of the most common separable prefixes:
ab- (off, away)
an- (on, at)
auf- (up, open)
aus- (out, from)
bei- (at, near)
ein- (in, into)
mit- (with, along)
nach- (after, to)
vor- (before, in front of)
zu- (to, closed)
zurück- (back)
Examples of Separable Verbs:
abfahren (to depart): ab- + fahren
ankommen (to arrive): an- + kommen
aufmachen (to open): auf- + machen
ausgehen (to go out): aus- + gehen
einkaufen (to shop): ein- + kaufen
mitkommen (to come along): mit- + kommen
vorbereiten (to prepare): vor- + bereiten
zumachen (to close): zu- + machen
zurückkommen (to come back): zurück- + kommen
Sentence Structure with Separable Verbs
In the present and simple past (Präteritum) tenses, the prefix separates from the verb and moves to the end of the main clause. The base verb is conjugated according to the subject.
Ich kaufe heute ein. (ihh kau-fe hoi-te ain) – I am shopping today. (einkaufen – to shop)
Er kommt morgen an. (air komt mor-gen ahn) – He is arriving tomorrow. (ankommen – to arrive)
Wir machen das Fenster auf. (veer mah-hen das fen-ster auf) – We are opening the window. (aufmachen – to open)
Sie rief mich gestern an. (zee reef mihh ges-tern ahn) – She called me yesterday. (anrufen – to call (on the phone))
Separable Verbs in the Perfekt Tense
In the Perfekt tense, the «ge-” prefix of the past participle is inserted between the separable prefix and the verb stem.
Ich habe eingekauft. (ihh hah-be ain-ge-kauft) – I have shopped. (einkaufen)
Er ist angekommen. (air ist ahn-ge-ko-men) – He has arrived. (ankommen)
Wir haben aufgemacht. (veer hah-ben auf-ge-mahht) –