Language/Danish/Grammar/Adjective-Comparison
As a Danish language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to introduce you to the world of Danish adjective comparison. In this lesson, we will explore how to form comparative and superlative adjectives in Danish.
Forming Comparatives
To form comparatives in Danish, you need to add "-ere" to the end of one-syllable adjectives or "-re" to the end of multisyllabic adjectives. For example:
- Høj (tall) → Højere (taller)
- Interessant (interesting) → Mere interessant (more interesting)
It is important to note that there are some irregular comparative forms in Danish:
- God (good) → Bedre (better)
- Dårlig (bad) → Værre (worse)
- Meget (much) → Mere (more)
Here are some examples of comparative adjectives in action:
| Danish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Jeg er højere end dig. | Ya ehr hoyehreh end dyh | I am taller than you. |
| Denne bog er mere interessant end den anden. | Den-neh bohh ehr meh-reh in-teh-reh-san end den an-den | This book is more interesting than the other. |
Forming Superlatives
To form superlative adjectives in Danish, you need to add "-est" to the end of one-syllable adjectives or "-st" to the end of multisyllabic adjectives. For example:
- Høj (tall) → Højest (tallest)
- Interessant (interesting) → Mest interessant (most interesting)
Similar to comparative adjectives, there are some irregular superlative forms in Danish:
- God (good) → Bedst (best)
- Dårlig (bad) → Værst (worst)
- Meget (much) → Mest (most)
Here are some examples of superlative adjectives in action:
| Danish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Han er højest i klassen. | Hahn ehr høh-yehst ih klah-ssen | He is the tallest in the class. |
| Denne bog er mest interessant af dem alle. | Den-neh bohh ehr mehst in-teh-reh-san ahf dem al-leh | This book is the most interesting of all. |
Remember the Exceptions
It is important to remember that there are some exceptions to the rule when it comes to comparing adjectives in Danish. Some adjectives do not follow the regular comparative and superlative forms, and instead, have unique or irregular comparative and superlative forms.
Here are some examples of adjectives with unique comparative and superlative forms:
- Lille (little/small) → Mindre (smaller) → Mindst (smallest)
- Stor (big) → Større (bigger) → Størst (biggest)
- Ung (young) → Yngre (younger) → Yngst (youngest)
Recap
To recap, Danish comparative adjectives are formed by adding "-ere" to one-syllable adjectives or "-re" to multisyllabic adjectives. Superlative adjectives are formed by adding "-est" to one-syllable adjectives or "-st" to multisyllabic adjectives. Remember that there are some irregular forms, so it is essential to familiarize yourself with them.
Keep practicing, and soon enough, you'll be able to describe your world in a more nuanced and descriptive way!
Related Lessons
- Cardinal Numbers in Danish
- How to Use Be
- Present Continuous in Danish
- Indefinite Articles in Danish
- Definite Articles in Danish
- Word Order
- Verbs (Past Tense)
- How to use “there to be” in Danish
- Prepositions