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### The Superlative Form (`am ...-sten`)

To state that something is the most extreme (e.g., the fastest, the most beautiful), German uses the word **am** followed by the adjective with the ending **-sten**.

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### Pronunciation and Vowel Changes

Just like in the comparative form, some adjectives require a small spelling adjustment in the superlative:

1. **Umlauts:** Short adjectives with the vowels **a**, **o**, or **u** that take an umlaut in the comparative will also take an umlaut in the superlative.
2. **Adding an `-e-`:** If an adjective ends with a sharp consonant sound like **-d**, **-t**, **-s**, or **-z**, you must add an extra **-e-** before the ending (**-esten**) to make it pronounceable.

| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **alt** | **älter** | **am ältesten** | the oldest |
| **kalt** | **kälter** | **am kältesten** | the coldest |
| **laut** | **lauter** | **am lautesten** | the loudest |

Here is the superlative form of **alt** in action:

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### Exploring the Universe

You can use these superlative forms to describe space and everything in it. Notice how both regular adjectives and adjectives with spelling changes behave in the examples below:

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Superlatives (am -sten)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the planet	der Planet
Earth	die Erde
the most (superlative marker)	am
Our planet, the Earth, is the most beautiful.	Unser Planet, die Erde, ist am schönsten.
Is the Earth the oldest?	Ist die Erde am ältesten?
the universe	das Weltall
Are there many planets in the universe?	Gibt es viele Planeten im Weltall?
In space, it is the darkest.	Im Weltall ist es am dunkelsten.
to discover	entdecken
We want to discover the universe.	Wir wollen das Weltall entdecken.
the star	der Stern
This star is the brightest.	Dieser Stern ist am hellsten.
the astronaut	der Astronaut
The astronaut wanted to discover a new star.	Der Astronaut wollte einen neuen Stern entdecken.
the rocket	die Rakete
The rocket flies the fastest.	Die Rakete fliegt am schnellsten.
When the rocket flies, it is the loudest.	Wenn die Rakete fliegt, ist sie am lautesten.
the spaceship	das Raumschiff
Spaceships fly the furthest.	Raumschiffe fliegen am weitesten.
The astronauts knew that this spaceship was the safest.	Die Astronauten wussten, dass dieses Raumschiff am sichersten war.
the life	das Leben
the moon	der Mond
Was there life on the moon in the past?	Gab es früher Leben auf dem Mond?
There is no life on the moon, because it is the coldest there.	Es gibt kein Leben auf dem Mond, denn da ist es am kältesten.

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