ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the use of comparatives and superlatives in the German grammar. The comparative form of the adjective/adverb is used when comparing two or more things. German comparatives are formed by adding -er to the adjective/adverb and, with certain words, umlauting the preceding stressed vowel. The superlative is used to express the most extreme degree of the adjective, and is formed by adding -st to the adjective. Adjectives which umlaut their vowels in the comparative also do so in the superlative form. Not all adjectives/adverbs with umlautable vowels have umlaut in the comparative and superlative, but it is always the case that, if umlaut is present, it appears in both the comparative and the superlative. When a superlative is used after a verb, i.e. as a predicative adjective, a special ending -en is added and the superlative is preceded by am.
