Comparative (-ari) and superlative (-astur) of adjectives, irregulars (stór/stærri/stærstur), 'than' = en.
I can compare things and name the most/least (Dettifoss er stærri en Gullfoss).
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Vatnajökull er stærri en allir aðrir jöklar á Íslandi.
Vatnajökull is bigger than all other glaciers in Iceland.
Dettifoss er kraftmesti foss í Evrópu.
Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe.
Þessi peysa er hlýrri en hin.
This sweater is warmer than the other one.
Í dag er veðrið betra en í gær.
Today the weather is better than yesterday.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The main group of adjectives forms the comparative with -ari and the superlative with -astur, with no vowel change:
| base | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| ríkur (rich) | ríkari | ríkastur |
| kaldur (cold) | kaldari | kaldastur |
A second large group takes -ri in the comparative instead, with an i-mutation vowel change: stór - stærri - stærstur (big), ungur - yngri - yngstur (young). Adjectives in -legur are their own group and change no vowel: the comparative shortens to -legri but the superlative goes the long way, fallegur - fallegri - fallegastur (beautiful). A few are fully irregular (the whole word changes): góður - betri - bestur (good), gamall - eldri - elstur (old).
For 'than' use en: Vatnajökull er stærri en aðrir jöklar. The case after en is the one the word would have in the clause en abbreviates: comparing subjects gives the nominative (hann er hærri en ég), comparing objects the accusative (ég þekki hann betur en þig) or the dative (hún gaf honum meira en mér). With the article the superlative takes the weak ending, which agrees: -i masculine, -a feminine and neuter, -u plural - stærsti jökullinn, lengsta áin, stærsta vatnið.
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesOver-applying -ari to the vowel-change class (stór -> *stórari instead of stærri) and to the -legur class (fallegur -> *fallegari instead of fallegri) - two different groups, both taking -ri. - Using the wrong word for 'than' - it is en, not og or með. - Forgetting the weak -i superlative with the article (stærsti jökullinn, not *stærstur jökullinn).
Vatnajökull er stærri en allir aðrir jöklar á Íslandi.
Vatnajökull is bigger than all other glaciers in Iceland.
Vowel-change class: stór -> stærri; 'than' = en.
Dettifoss er kraftmesti foss í Evrópu.
Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe.
A superlative next to a noun takes the weak form: kraftmikill -> kraftmesti foss. In a bare predicate, with no noun, it is strong: Dettifoss er kraftmestur.
Þessi peysa er hlýrri en hin.
This sweater is warmer than the other one.
-rri class: the r of hlýr is the masculine ending (feminine hlý), so it doubles - hlýrri, not *hlýrari; lopapeysa wool sweaters are an Icelandic icon.
Í dag er veðrið betra en í gær.
Today the weather is better than yesterday.
Irregular góður -> betri (good -> better).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises