Breakdown of Gefällt euch der Wald? Er ist größer als der Garten.
sein
to be
er
he
groß
big / tall
euch
you (plural, informal)
der Garten
the garden
gefallen
to please
als
than
der Wald
the forest
Questions & Answers about Gefällt euch der Wald? Er ist größer als der Garten.
Why does groß become größer with an umlaut?
In German, many short, one-syllable adjectives get an umlaut (two dots) over the vowel when they change into the comparative form. So, groß (big) becomes größer (bigger), just like alt becomes älter (older).
Wait, why does the English translation say 'It is bigger', but the German says Er ist größer? Isn't er 'he'?
In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since 'the forest' is der Wald (masculine), you have to use the masculine pronoun er to refer back to it, even though we say 'it' in English.
Why do we use euch instead of ihr for 'you' in the first sentence?
The verb gefallen (to like / to be pleasing) requires the dative case for the person doing the liking. The sentence literally translates to 'Does the forest please you all?' The dative form of ihr (you all) is euch.
What word is used for 'than' when making comparisons?
When comparing two unequal things, German uses als for 'than'. So, 'bigger than' is größer als. Just be careful not to confuse it with wie, which is used for equal comparisons like 'as big as'.
Why is der Garten in the nominative case at the end?
When comparing two things with als, both items take the same case. Since Er (the forest) is the subject of the sentence (nominative case), the thing it is being compared to, der Garten, is also in the nominative case.
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