Projects rarely go exactly to plan. When explaining that something took more time, effort, or money than originally thought, use the comparative form of an adjective followed by als (than).
Subordinate Clauses with "als"
When als introduces a full clause (with its own subject and verb), it acts as a subordinating conjunction. This means:
- A comma separates the main clause and the als-clause.
- The conjugated verb in the als-clause goes to the very end.
| The calculation was more optimistic than the boss suspected. | Die Kalkulation war optimistischer, als der Chef vermutete. |
Add emphasizing words like erheblich (considerably) before the comparative adjective to highlight a larger gap between the estimate and reality.
| The budget was considerably smaller than we calculated. | Das Budget war erheblich kleiner, als wir kalkulierten. |
Evaluating the Project
Let's apply this structure to different project phases, from the initial calculation to the actual implementation (die Umsetzung).
| The implementation was considerably more difficult than we expected. | Die Umsetzung war erheblich schwieriger, als wir erwarteten. |
Financials often hold the biggest surprises. Notice how verbs like schätzen (to estimate) and vermuten (to suspect) sit neatly at the end of these comparative clauses.
| The expenses were unfortunately higher than we estimated at the beginning. | Die Ausgaben waren leider höher, als wir am Anfang schätzten. |
| The deviation was worse than I suspected. | Die Abweichung war schlimmer, als ich vermutete. |
Scaling Up
Whether a project grows in scope (umfangreich) or demands more resources (die Ressource), the verb-final rule for als stays exactly the same.
| The project became more extensive than the boss planned. | Das Projekt wurde umfangreicher, als der Chef plante. |
| We needed considerably more resources than we believed. | Wir brauchten erheblich mehr Ressourcen, als wir glaubten. |
