Breakdown of Dieses Verkehrsmittel ist viel schneller.
sein
to be
schnell
fast, quickly
viel
much / a lot
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
das Verkehrsmittel
the means of transport
Questions & Answers about Dieses Verkehrsmittel ist viel schneller.
Why is the word for "faster" just schneller here, without any extra adjective endings like -es?
schneller is the comparative form of schnell (fast). To make the comparative of regular adjectives, you simply add -er. Because schneller comes after the verb ist and doesn't sit directly right in front of a noun, it doesn't take any extra grammatical endings. It just stays in its basic comparative form.
Why do we use viel instead of sehr before the adjective?
In English, you say "much faster" or "a lot faster", but never "very faster". German works exactly the same way! You use viel (much) to intensify a comparative adjective. You would only use sehr (very) with the basic form of the adjective, like sehr schnell (very fast).
Why is it Dieses and not Dieser or Diese?
Verkehrsmittel (means of transport) is a neuter noun (das Verkehrsmittel). Because it is the subject of this sentence (in the nominative case), the word for "this" must take the neuter ending -es, making it Dieses.
How can I figure out the gender of a long, combined word like Verkehrsmittel?
Always look at the very last word in the chain! Verkehrsmittel is a compound noun made from Verkehr (traffic) + s (a connecting letter) + Mittel (means/medium). In German, the final noun always determines the gender of the whole word. Since it is das Mittel, the entire word is das Verkehrsmittel.
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