Breakdown of Der Streit ist viel heftiger gewesen als früher.
sein
to be
viel
much / a lot
früher
in the past
als
than
der Streit
the argument, fight
heftig
fierce
Questions & Answers about Der Streit ist viel heftiger gewesen als früher.
Why is als früher placed after the past participle gewesen?
Usually, the past participle goes at the very end of a German sentence. However, comparisons starting with als or wie are frequently moved to the Nachfeld (the space after the final verb). This makes the sentence flow better and prevents the main verb from getting stranded far away from the rest of the clause.
Could I put als früher before gewesen?
Yes, Der Streit ist viel heftiger als früher gewesen is grammatically correct. However, putting the comparison in the Nachfeld after gewesen sounds much more natural and is standard practice in everyday German.
Why use the Perfekt tense (ist ... gewesen) here instead of the Präteritum (war)?
While war is much more common for the verb sein in both spoken and written German, the Perfekt ist ... gewesen is still perfectly correct. It is sometimes used to emphasize that an event is completely finished, and in this lesson, it provides a clear two-part verb structure to demonstrate how the Nachfeld works.
Why do we use viel here instead of sehr?
When intensifying a comparative adjective like heftiger (fiercer), you must use viel (much). Just as you would say much fiercer instead of very fiercer in English, German uses viel heftiger rather than sehr heftiger.
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