Breakdown of Das Land hier ist größer als die Insel.
sein
to be
hier
here
groß
big / tall
als
than
die Insel
the island
das Land
the country
Questions & Answers about Das Land hier ist größer als die Insel.
Why does groß change to größer with an umlaut?
Many short, one-syllable German adjectives that have an a, o, or u add an umlaut when they change into the comparative (the -er form). So groß (big) becomes größer (bigger), and alt (old) becomes älter (older).
Why is the word hier placed right after Das Land?
In German, you can place a location word like hier (here) or dort (there) directly after a noun to specify exactly which one you mean. So Das Land hier simply means the country here or this country.
Is it possible to use wie instead of als to say than?
No, because als is strictly used for unequal comparisons, like when something is bigger, smaller, or older than something else. You only use wie for equal comparisons (for example, so groß wie means as big as).
What case is die Insel in at the end of the sentence?
It is in the nominative case. When you compare two things using als, the second item takes the same case as the first item. Since Das Land is the subject of the sentence (nominative), die Insel is also nominative.
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