The Cases with Comparatives in German
In our last blog we discussed Comparatives in German. We talked about the connection with the words “als” and “wie” when we compare two things with each other.
In this blog we want to show you how to build the comparative in connection with the four cases without using “als” and “wie”. Yes, that is right, the cases are back!
The ending of a comparative is the same as the ending of superlatives (best, fastest etc.). That’s good news because the rules for the endings are pretty straight forward and not too difficult to pick up 🙂
Here is a table with all the endings for every case when using comparatives:
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genetive | |
| der | -e | -en | -en | -en |
| die | -e | -e | -en | -en |
| das | -e | -e | -en | -en |
| plural (if used with the article) | -en | -en | -en | -en |
| plural (if used without the article) | -e | -e | -en | -er |
Examples of comparatives in each of the cases
Nominative:
Er ist der ältere Mann. – He’s the older man.
Sie ist die ältere Frau. – She’s the older woman.
Das ist das schnellere Auto. – This is the faster car.
Sie sind die netteren Arbeitskollegen. – These are the nicer colleagues.
Sie sind nettere Arbeitskollegen. – These are nicer colleagues. (Without using the article)
Accusative:
Ich esse den grüneren Apfel. – I’m eating the greener Apple.
Ich bevorzuge die größere Küche. – I prefer the bigger kitchen.
Ich habe das größere Haus. – I have the bigger house.
Ich habe die schnelleren Autos. – I have the faster cars.
Ich habe schnellere Autos. – I have faster cars. (Without using the article)
Dative:
Ich gab dem älteren Mann einen Apfel. – I gave the older man an apple.
Ich gab der älteren Frau einen Apfel. – I gave the older woman an apple.
Ich gab dem jüngeren Mädchen einen Kuss. – I gave the younger girl a kiss.
Ich gab den jüngeren Kindern einen Apfel. – I gave the younger kids an apple.
Ich helfe jüngeren Kindern beim Klavier spielen. – I help younger kids playing piano. (Without using the article)
Genitive:
Das Auto des jüngeren Lehrers ist schwarz. – The car of the younger teacher is black.
Das Auto der jüngeren Lehrerin ist rot. – The car of the younger teacher (female) is red.
Das Kleid des jüngeren Mädchens ist blau. – The dress of the younger girl is blue.
Die Häuser der reicheren Leute sind im Westen. – The houses of the richer people are in the West.
Die Häuser reicherer Leute sind im Westen. – The houses of richer people are in the West. (Without using the article)