Breakdown of Es gibt hier eine Schlange, aber sie ist kleiner als eine Maus.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
sie
she
hier
here
klein
small
aber
but
es gibt
there is / there are
als
than
die Maus
the mouse
die Schlange
the snake
Questions & Answers about Es gibt hier eine Schlange, aber sie ist kleiner als eine Maus.
Why do we use als here instead of wie?
We use als (than) because this is a comparison of inequality. The snake is smaller (kleiner), not the same size. If they were the exact same size, we would use so klein wie (as small as).
Why does the sentence use sie when the English translation says "it"?
In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Because the word for snake is feminine (die Schlange), we must use the feminine pronoun sie to refer back to it.
How is the word kleiner formed?
To make the comparative form of an adjective (like smaller, faster, or louder), you generally just add -er to the end of the base word. So, klein (small) becomes kleiner (smaller).
What case is eine Maus in this sentence?
It is in the nominative case. When you compare two things using als, they both take the same case. Since the mouse is being compared to the pronoun sie (which is the subject, or nominative case), eine Maus must also be nominative.
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