A comparative adjective says that one thing has more of a quality than another: "taller", "higher", "braver".
Can recognize Comparatives recognition in a short Latin prompt
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
My brother is taller than I am.
Nothing is faster than the mind.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
A comparative adjective says that one thing has more of a quality than another: "taller", "higher", "braver". Latin forms it with a clear signal you can learn once and spot everywhere: the ending -ior (neuter -ius) added to the adjective stem.
| Plain | Comparative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| altus (high) | altior | higher, taller |
| fortis (brave) | fortior | braver |
| longus (long) | longior | longer |
| felix (lucky) | felicior | luckier |
To say "than", Latin has two options. It can use the word quam followed by the same case: Mārcus altior quam Iūlia est = "Mārcus is taller than Julia." Or it can drop quam and put the thing compared in the ablative case: Mārcus altior Iūlia est, meaning exactly the same thing.
Examples:
For English speakers: two traps. First, do not expect a "more" word. English can say "more brave"; Latin packs that comparison into the -ior ending, so fortior is one word meaning "braver". Second, the word "than" is not always there. When you see a comparative and then a noun in the ablative with no quam, supply the "than" yourself. Spot the -ior / -ius ending and you have found a comparison.
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an
ÜbungsaufgabenMy brother is taller than I am.
Altior is the comparative in -ior, and quam introduces what is compared - like English 'than'.
Nothing is faster than the mind.
Here the ablative mente replaces quam. Both constructions are ordinary Latin.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an