Language/Dutch/Grammar/Comaratives-and-Superlatives

Comparatives

To form a Comparative in Dutch you usually add -er

For example:

English	Dutch	Comparative	Comparatief
Fun	Leuk	More fun	Leuker
Green	Groen	Greener	Groener
Tall	Lang	Taller	Langer

If however an adjective ends with "r", one forms the comparative by adding -der

For example:

English	Dutch	Comparative	Comparatief
Dark	Donker	Darker	Donkerder
Expensive	Duur	More expensive	Duurder
Weird	Raar	Weirder	Raarder

If the last syllable of an adjective contains two the same vowels in a row, followed by one consonant (that is not "r") forming a comparative will take one of these vowels away

For example:

English	Dutch	Comparative	Comparatief
Big	Groot	Bigger	Groter
Yellow	Geel	More yellow	Geler
Common	Gewoon	More common	Gewoner

When a comparative is used to compare two things that are named in the sentence, the word "dan" is used

For example:

English	Dutch
An apple is rounder than a pear	Een appel is ronder dan een peer
A tablet is bigger than a phone	Een tablet is groter dan een telefoon
My index finger is longer than my thumb	Mijn wijsvinger is langer dan mijn duim

When a comparative is used to compare people, using pronouns, the pronouns used are usually personal pronouns. When in doubt, repeat the verb

For example:

English	Dutch
He is bigger than I	Hij is groter dan ik (ben)
She is prettier dan he	Zij is mooier dan hij (is)
You walk faster than we	Jullie lopen sneller dan wij (lopen)

Except:

Dutch	English
Ik zie jou vaker dan hij (jou ziet)	I see you more othen than he sees you
Ik zie jou vaker dan (ik) hem (zie)	I see you more often than I see him

(When the things that are being compared are equally (adjective), instead of "dan" "als" is used: My dog is as big as yours = Mijn hond is even groot als die van jou; I am as big as you = ik ben even groot als jij (bent))

When a comparative is used as an adjective, sometimes an extra "e" is added at the end of the comparative:

This happens in the following cases

	noun = neutral	noun = male/female
Article = a/an (een)	no e	+e
Article = the (de/het)	+e	+e

English	Dutch
A bigger house	Een groter huis
A bigger boy	Een grotere jongen
The bigger house	Het grotere huis
The bigger boy	De grotere jongen

Superlatives

To form a Superlative in Dutch you usually add -st

For example:

English	Dutch	Superlative	Superlatief
Big	Groot	Biggest	Grootst
Pretty	Mooi	Prettiest	Mooist
Dark	Donker	Darkest	Donkerst

If however an adjective ends with...

• "e"
• "isch"
• "sk"

The superlative is formed by putting "meest" (most) in front of it

English	Dutch	Superlative	Superlatief
Orange	Oranje	Most orange	Meest oranje
Practical	Praktisch	Most practical	Meest praktisch
Firm	Vast	Firmest	Meest vast

Adjectives ending on "s" can be turned into superlatives by either adding -t at the end (instead of -st) or adding "meest" in front of it.

Using superlatives as adjectives workst the same as comparatives.

EXCEPTIONS

English	Dutch	Comparative	Subjective
Good	Goed	Beter	Best
Gladly	Graag	Liever	Liefst
Much/many	Veel	Meer	Meest
Little/few	Weinig	Minder	Minst