Comparison of adverbs

(Comparison of adverbs in German grammar)

Table of contents – comparison of adverbs

On this page you will find the following:

  1. Comparable adverbs
  2. Table of comparison
  3. Further explanations and exercises

What adverbs can be compared?

Adverbs (called Umstandswörter in German) indicate the circumstances or properties of something. In general, adverbs are not declinable or inflectable – at most, they can be modified by comparison. In contrast to adjectives, most of which are comparable and may be used as comparable adverbs, only very few true adverbs can have comparative degrees.

Read the following list of adverbs that have degrees of comparison:

Degrees of comparison of adverbs

Specific German adverbs that can be compared
Positive Comparative Superlative English equivalent
sehr mehr am meisten very → more → the most
gern lieber am liebsten with pleasure → rather → best of all
oft öfter am öftesten often → more often → most often
bald eher am ehesten soon → sooner → the soonest
wohl besser am besten quite → better → the best

Further explanations related to the ‘Comparison of adverbs’

The following explanations refer to the topic ‘Comparison of German adverbs’ and may also be helpful: