Questions & Answers about Die Preise sind hier niedriger.
Why doesn't niedriger have an extra declension ending here, since we are learning about adjective endings?
Because niedriger is not placed directly in front of a noun. It comes after the verb sind (are), making it a predicative adjective. Predicative adjectives don't take case endings, even when they are comparatives. The -er on the end is just the comparative marker, exactly like the '-er' in the English word 'lower'.
How would this sentence look if it used the superlative form 'lowest' instead of 'lower'?
You would use the phrase am niedrigsten. When a superlative adjective stands alone after a verb like this (predicatively), you must use am plus the adjective with a -sten ending. The sentence would become: Die Preise sind hier am niedrigsten.
Is the word order strict? Could I put hier at the very end of the sentence?
While Die Preise sind niedriger hier would be understood, putting hier before the adjective is the standard and most natural-sounding order. In German, adverbs of place (like hier) generally come before the predicate adjectives they modify.
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