ADJECTIVE IN GERMAN GRAMMAR HOW TO

Some adjectives cannot be tranformed into the comporative or superlative form, because otherwise the meaning of the words would be modified. Adjectives that cannot be used as comparative or superlativeĪdjectives that cannot be used as comparative or superlative.These are the exceptional cases by forming the comparative and superlative: Of course, there are certain cases, where you have to be careful with. Exceptional cases in forming the comparative and superlative Unlike in Englisch, in German it can never be formed by mehr + adjective. Sometimes, in English the comparative and superlative forms are composed by using more or most, as in more beautiful. The superlative describes persons, actions or things that can't be outperformed. While the positive form of an adjective simply describes the noun, a comparative adjective compares persons or things that are not equal. (superlative) (Our picture is the prettiest.) (comparative) (Your picture is prettier.) In English as well as in German, adjectives have three degrees of comparison: the positive, the comparative and the superlative. What are the three degrees of German adjectives? Exercise of adjectives ending in -er or -el Exercise of adjectives with vowel changes Exercise of irregular adjectives in German

ADJECTIVE IN GERMAN GRAMMAR HOW TO

How to form the comparative of superiority Adjectives that cannot be used as comparative or superlative Endings to form the superlative and comparative in German (using suffixes) How to form the comparative and superlative Īdjectives can only modify nouns, not adverbs. For example, in the phrase “very funny movie,” funny is an adjective describing the noun movie, and very is an adverb describing the adjective funny. What is the difference between adjectives and adverbs?Īdjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs. Adjective FAQsĪn adjective is a word that describes the traits, qualities, or number of a noun.ĭescriptive words like “beautiful,” “smooth,” or “heavy” are all adjectives, as are numbers ( “twelve eggs”). But if it’s not pulling its weight, delete it. night? Always remember to make every word count in your writing. Is it a big house, or is it a mansion? A large crowd, or a throng? A mixed-breed dog, or a mutt? A dark night, or just. It’s hard to describe a red sports car without the word “red.” But, often, choosing the right noun eliminates the need to tack on an adjective. Sometimes, you need an adjective to convey exactly what you mean. It’s one thing to know how to use an adjective it’s another to know when using one is a good idea. We’ll end with a few words about adjectives and style.

But the terms “adjective” and “noun” aren’t just about a word’s form-they’re also about its function. It can be hard to wrap your head around this if you think of adjectives and nouns only as particular classes of words. In the context of this sentence, homeless is functioning as a noun.

An example you’ve probably heard before is:Ĭandice is working on a fundraiser to help the homeless. This leads to a common type of error: incorrectly substituting an adverb in place of a predicate adjective. But as we’ve seen, adjectives can also act as complements for linking verbs.

adverbsĪs mentioned above, many of us learned in school that adjectives modify nouns and that adverbs modify verbs. In the second sentence, you wouldn’t say “No one could open the silver old locket.” You can’t reverse the order of the adjectives because silver locket is a unit that is modified by old. Īnother way to test for coordinate adjectives is to try switching the order of the adjectives and seeing if the phrase still works. Woolen sweater forms a unit of meaning that is modified by tattered. In the first sentence, “this tattered and woolen sweater” doesn’t sound right because you really aren’t talking about a sweater that is both tattered and woolen. Try inserting the word and between the adjectives to see if the phrase still seems natural. But there are a couple of ways you can test them. In some cases, it’s pretty hard to decide whether two adjectives are coordinate or not.

Adjective in german grammar