Breakdown of Der Garten ist im Sommer am hübschesten.
sein
to be
in
in
der Garten
the garden
der Sommer
the summer
hübsch
pretty
Questions & Answers about Der Garten ist im Sommer am hübschesten.
The current lesson is about attributive adjectives, but here we see am hübschesten. Why isn't it der hübscheste?
Because the adjective isn't directly in front of a noun here. When a superlative comes after the noun and a verb like sein (to be), it is predicative. Predicative superlatives in German always use the fixed structure am + adjective + -sten (or -esten). If it were attributive, you would say der hübscheste Garten (the prettiest garden).
Why is there an extra e in am hübschesten?
It is there to make the word easier to pronounce. When an adjective ends in an -s, -ß, -z, -d, -t, or -sch sound, you add an -e- before the superlative -sten ending. Because hübsch ends in -sch, it becomes am hübschesten instead of the hard-to-say am hübschsten.
Why do we say im Sommer instead of just in Sommer?
In German, seasons, months, and most parts of the day require a definite article. The preposition in here takes the dative case because it describes a fixed point in time. Therefore, in combines with the masculine dative article dem to form the contraction im.
Could I change the word order to Der Garten ist am hübschesten im Sommer?
People would understand you, but it sounds unnatural. German strongly prefers putting time phrases like im Sommer as early as possible after the conjugated verb. Predicative adjectives like am hübschesten are usually pushed to the very end of the sentence.
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