Adverbs in German
Using adverbs
While adjectives describe nouns, adverbsprovide more information about
verbs:Adjective Sie ist schön. She is beautiful.
Adverb Sie singt schön. She sings beautifully.Contrary to English where adverbs often differ from adjectives (‘beautiful’
→ ‘beautifully’), adverbs in German use the form of the adjectives.
However, adverbs in German do not take any endings.Comparative and superlative of adverbs
Adverbs form their comparativein the same way as adjectives by adding
-er. The superlativeforms are usually constructed with am+-sten:Sie singt schön. →Sie singt schöner. →Sie singt am schönsten.Note that gernhas irregular comparative and superlative forms: lieber,
am liebsten.Ich trinke gern Wasser. →Ich trinke lieber Bier. →
Ich trinke am liebsten Wein.Different ways of comparing – alsandso... wie
There are two main ways of comparing in German:- alsis frequently used to express inequality, corresponding to the English
‘than’:
Die CD ist teurer alsdas Buch.
The CD is more expensive than the book.- so... wieexpresses the idea of equality and corresponds to the English
‘as... as’:
Er ist sogroßwiesein Bruder.
He is as tall as his brother.Unit 15: Adjectives and adverbs 113