Adjective (Adjektiv)
Adjectives come before the noun, Just like in in English, and are not capitalised. However, they are generally inflected when they come before a noun: they take an ending that depends on the gender and case of the noun phrase.
As in English, the predictive adjective, an adjective that comes straight after the verbs sein and werden , is invariable in German. This is the case in singular:
Das Bild ist schön.
The painting is beautiful
Adjectival endings following a definite article
Just as the endings of articles change, so do those of adjectives.
When an adjective follows a definite article (der, die, das), it is declined as follows:
Die Junge Frau.
The young woman.
Der lustige Mann.
The funny man.
However, in the plural and in the accusative masculaine case, adjectives following a definite article take -en.
Die Roten Autos.
The red cars.
Ich kaufe den schwarten Stuhl.
I am buying the black chair.
Adjectival endings following an indefinite article
Adjectives that follow an indefinite article in the accusative (einen) also take the marker of the article: masculine adjectives therefore end in -en.
Ich esse den grünen Chili.
I am eating the green chilli.
The indefinite article ein does not have a plural form, so no indefinite article is used in the plural. Adjectives in the plural then end in-e:
Große Häuser.
Bigger houses.
Grüne Bäume.
Green trees
When adjective follows a singular negative indefinite article (kein, keine), it also takes the marker of the definite article:-er, -e or -es:
Der Lehrer ist nicht nett - kein netter Lehrer
Die Frau ist nicht nett - keine nette Frau
Das ist nicht nett - keine nettes Kind
The indefinite article kein has a plural form: keine. When an adjective follows keine, it ends with -en:
keine großen Häuser
No big houses
keine grünen Bäume
No green trees
Adjectives in the dative
Adjectives in the dative end in -en:
Hier ist ein Blumenstrauß mit einer großen Karte für dich
Here is a bunch of flowers with a big card for you
Er kommt von meinem neuen Freund
It is from my new boyfriend
This marker is the same for all genders and the plural:
Sie bliebt bei den freundlichen Nachbarn
She is staying with the friendly neighbours
Comparatives
To form comparative adjectives, e.g. bigger than/more beautiful than, you add -er: to the end of the adjective:
Stuttgart ist kleiner als Berlin
Stuttgart is smaller than Berlin
To compare two items you always useals:
Berlin is größer als Stuttgart
Berlin is bigger than Stuttgart
Less ... than
To say something is less ... than something else, there are two possible ways: weniger + adjective + als or nicht so + adjective + wie.
Sie ist weniger stark als ihre Mutter
She is less strong than her mother
Mein Sprung ist nicht so hoch wie deiner
My jump is not as high as yours
As ... as
To say that something is as ... as something else, you use: so + adjective + wie ...
Augsberg ist so schön wie München
Augsberg is as beautiful as Munich
Lars ist so groß wie Michael
Lars ist as tall as Michael
As with other comparatives, the adjective here is invariable
Superlatives
The superlative (this most ...) is used when more than two elements are compared. You use the ending -ste to form it:
Er war das netteste Kind der Schule
He was the nicest child in the school
Er war der ruhigste Schüler der Klasse
He was the quietest pupil in the class
Superlative adverbs are formed using am + -sten :
Marcus fährt am schnellsten.
Marcus drives the fastest
Heidi spielt am besten Klavier
Heidi plays the piano the best
Adjectives in the accusative
Just like with the definite article, the only adjective ending that changes in the definite accusative case is the masculine.
Sie trägt den blauen Rock
She is wearing the blue skirt
The feminine, neuter and plural stay as the same in the nominitive case:
Ich mag die schwarze Hose
I like the black trousers
Sie kauft das weiße T-Shirt
She is buying the white T-shirt
Siehst du die teueren Schuhe?
Do you see the expensive shoes?
Adverbs
Adverbs of manner are used with verbs, adjectives or other adverbs and describe how something happens
Sie singt schön
She sings beautifully
Unlike adjectives, German adverbs never change their form
Er läuft schnell. Sie läuft auch schnell
He is walking fast. She is also walking fast
Word order in questions
In questions the word order is reversed. You change the position of the subject and the verb or modal verb, but the position of the adverb does not change
Wir gehen schnell - Gehen wir schnell?
We are walking fast - Are we walking fast?
The adjectives viel(e) & wenig(e)
As in English, German has countable nouns (e.g. eggs, apples) and uncountable nouns (e.g. flour, sugar). With countable nouns you use viele (many) and wenige to express an amount.
Wir brauchen viele Äpfel und wenige Eier
We need a lot of apple, but not many eggs
With uncountable nouns you drop the e and use viel and wenig
Wir brauchen viel Zucker und wenig Butter
We need a lot of sugar, but not much butter
Ein bisschen and ein paar
To express some, you use different words for countable and uncountable nouns.
Ein paar Eier sind kaputt
Some eggs are broken
Wir brauchen ein bisschen Mehl
We need some flour