German · Chapter 7 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
Comparatives and superlatives
German bolts an ending on, and a handful of common adjectives sneak in an umlaut while nobody is looking.
The short version
German never says more interesting
English switches to more and most once an adjective gets long. German never does: every adjective takes -er, however many syllables it has. So more interesting is interessanter and more important is wichtiger. Mehr in front of an adjective is the quickest way to sound translated.
Die Geschichte ist interessanter als der Film.
Am größten after a verb, der größte before a noun
German has two superlatives and picks by position. After a verb it is am plus -sten: Er ist am größten. In front of a noun it is the article plus -ste plus the normal adjective ending: der größte Mann. Er ist größten, with no am, is not German at all.
Das ist das beste Buch.
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