Breakdown of Dieses Verkehrsmittel ist günstig, aber es ist unbequemer als der Bus.
sein
to be
es
it
aber
but
der Bus
the bus
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
das Verkehrsmittel
the means of transport
günstig
cheap / favorable (good value)
als
than
unbequem
uncomfortable
Questions & Answers about Dieses Verkehrsmittel ist günstig, aber es ist unbequemer als der Bus.
Why does German use unbequemer instead of a separate word for "more"?
Unlike English, which uses "more" for longer adjectives like "more uncomfortable", German simply adds -er to the end of almost all regular adjectives. So the base word unbequem becomes unbequemer.
What does als do in this sentence?
als translates to "than" in German comparisons. Whenever you use a comparative adjective with an -er ending to say one thing is greater or lesser than another, you must link them with als.
Why is the pronoun es used to say "it is"?
Pronouns in German must match the gender of the noun they replace. Here, es refers back to das Verkehrsmittel (the mode of transport). Because the noun is neuter, the pronoun must be the neuter es.
How can I tell that Verkehrsmittel is a neuter word?
It is a compound noun made of der Verkehr (traffic) and das Mittel (means or medium). In German, the very last noun in a compound word always dictates the gender. Since it ends in das Mittel, the whole word is neuter, which is also why the sentence starts with the neuter word Dieses.
Why is der Bus in the nominative case here?
When you compare two things using als, both items usually take the same grammatical case. Since Dieses Verkehrsmittel is the subject of the sentence (nominative case), the thing it is being compared to, der Bus, must also be in the nominative case.
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