Breakdown of Auf der Insel ist es wärmer als im Tal.
sein
to be
es
it
warm
warm
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
als
than
das Tal
the valley
die Insel
the island
Questions & Answers about Auf der Insel ist es wärmer als im Tal.
Why does the word for warmer have an umlaut here?
To say warmer, German adds -er to the adjective warm. However, many short, common adjectives with an a, o, or u also get an umlaut in their comparative form. That is why warm becomes wärmer.
Is als the only word we use for than in comparisons?
Yes, when you are comparing two unequal things (like saying one place is more something than another), you always use als for than. You only use wie if the two things are exactly equal, such as in as warm as (so warm wie).
Why is the verb ist placed before es?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must always sit in the second position. Because the location phrase Auf der Insel takes up the entire first position, the verb ist comes second, which pushes the subject es into the third position.
If the word is die Insel, why does this sentence say auf der Insel?
The preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Because the sentence describes a fixed location answering the question where? rather than a movement towards a destination, it requires the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
What is im a contraction of in im Tal?
im is a short way of saying in dem. Just like the island, the valley (das Tal) is a fixed location in this sentence, so it takes the dative case. The neuter dative article is dem, and in plus dem merges into im.
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