Breakdown of Dieser Stern ist am hellsten.
sein
to be
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
hell
bright
am
the most (superlative marker)
Questions & Answers about Dieser Stern ist am hellsten.
Why does the German sentence use am instead of a word for 'the' like der or das?
When a superlative adjective comes after the verb and stands alone (meaning it is not placed directly in front of a noun), German uses the am ...-sten format. While in English you say 'the brightest', in German you say am hellsten.
How is the word hellsten built from the base adjective?
The base adjective is hell (bright). To make this superlative form, you add the superlative marker -st. Because it follows am, it must also take the ending -en, making it am hellsten.
Could I say Dieser Stern ist der hellste instead?
Yes, that is grammatically correct and means almost exactly the same thing. However, using am hellsten is much more common and natural when the adjective stands on its own after the verb.
Why is it Dieser and not just Diese?
Stern (star) is a masculine noun (der Stern). Because it is the subject of this sentence (in the nominative case), the word for 'this' needs the masculine ending -er, becoming Dieser.