Breakdown of Das Tal ist schön, aber der Berg ist höher.
sein
to be
schön
beautiful
aber
but
der Berg
the mountain
hoch
high
das Tal
the valley
Questions & Answers about Das Tal ist schön, aber der Berg ist höher.
Why does the comparative of hoch become höher instead of just adding -er?
The word hoch (high) is irregular. Like many short adjectives, it adds an umlaut in the comparative. However, it also drops the c, changing from hoch to höher.
Why doesn't höher have a case ending, like höherer?
Because höher comes after the verb ist rather than sitting directly in front of a noun. Adjectives used this way do not take case endings, even when they are in the comparative form.
If the lesson is about comparative adjectives, why doesn't schön change to schöner?
In this specific sentence, we are not comparing the beauty of the valley to anything else; we are just stating that it is beautiful in its basic form. Only the mountain's height is being compared (höher).
Does the word aber change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No. The word aber (but) is a coordinating conjunction, meaning it links two independent sentences without affecting their word order. It sits in position zero, so der Berg takes position one and the verb ist stays in its normal position two.
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