Breakdown of Wir laufen schnell, weil der Bär gefährlicher als der Fuchs ist.
sein
to be
schnell
fast, quickly
wir
we
laufen
to walk / to run (steady pace, jog)
gefährlich
dangerous
weil
because (subordinating)
als
than
der Bär
the bear
der Fuchs
the fox
Questions & Answers about Wir laufen schnell, weil der Bär gefährlicher als der Fuchs ist.
Why is it gefährlicher instead of "mehr gefährlich"?
To make a comparison in German, you usually just add -er to the end of the adjective. Unlike English, which uses "more" for long words like "dangerous", German simply adds the ending to make gefährlicher, no matter how long the word is!
Why do we use als instead of wie in this sentence?
You use als when comparing two things that are unequal (one is more dangerous than the other). If the bear and the fox were exactly equally dangerous, you would use the equality structure so gefährlich wie (as dangerous as).
Why does it say der Fuchs and not den Fuchs?
When comparing two things with als, both items are in the same case. Because the bear (der Bär) is the subject of its clause (nominative case), the fox (der Fuchs) must also be in the nominative case.
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the sentence?
The word weil (because) introduces a dependent clause. When you start a clause with weil, it forces the conjugated verb (in this case, ist) all the way to the end of that clause.
Learn Wir laufen schnell, weil der Bär gefährlicher als der Fuchs ist and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free