Adjective
Adjective
Adjective
*Adjectives that come after the following words are declined exactly the same as
after the definite article: derselbe, dieser, jener, mancher, solcher, welcher,
alle.
Exceptions to the rule
When the adjective ends in -e, we don’t add a second -e.
Example:
leise – ein leiser Junge (not: )
When the adjective ends in -el, we remove the -e from -el
Example:
dunkel – ein dunkler Wald (not: )
We usually remove the -e from adjectives that end in a vowel + -
er. We also remove the -e in many foreign words.
Example:
teuer – ein teures Hotel (nicht: )
makaber – eine makabre Geschichte (nicht: )
The adjective hoch is irregular: we remove the -c for
the attributive adjective.
Example:
hoch – ein hohes Haus (not: )
Declension Tables: Attributive Adjectives in
German Grammar
The declension tables below provides an overview of the declension of
adjectives with the definite, indefinite and no article in all four
German cases.
1.Positive Adjectives
The positive form is the basic form of the adjective. We use it in
the comparative expression so … wie.
Example:
Maria läuft so schnell wie Susanne.
genauso … wie
nicht so … wie
fast so … wie
doppelt so … wie
halb so … wie
2.Comparative Adjectives
The comparative is the first form of comparison. The ending -er is
added to the adjective and the sentences is constructed
with als (than).
Example:
Friederike läuft schneller als Maria.
In German, all comparative adjectives are formed with -er. They differ
from English comparative forms in that they are never formed with the
word mehr (more).
Example:
interessant → interessanter
but not:
3.Superlative Adjectives
The superlative is the highest form of comparison. We put am or
the definite article in front of the adjective, and add -ste(n) to the end.
The formation is the same for all adjectives regardless of how many
syllables they have.
Example:
Friederike läuft am schnellsten.
Sie ist die schnellste Läuferin.
Attributive Adjectives
Attributive adjectives have to be declined in all comparative
forms. To do this, we add the ending for the comparative form,
then the ending for the declension. Attributive adjectives always
form the superlative with the definite article.
Example:
der kleine Junge/der kleinere Junge/der kleinste Junge
ein kleiner Junge/ein kleinerer Junge/der kleinste Junge
Adverbial/Predicative Adjectives
Adverbial adjectives always form the superlative with am and the
ending -sten.
Example:
wichtig – wichtiger – am wichtigsten
Predicative adjectives can form the superlative not only
with am but also with the definite article. When using the definite
article, we add the ending -ste to the adjective.
Example:
Diese Aufgabe ist am wichtigsten.
Diese Aufgabe ist die wichtigste.