Breakdown of Der Onkel hat mehr Wein getrunken als der Großvater.
trinken
to drink
haben
to have
der Wein
the wine
mehr
more
als
than
der Großvater
the grandfather (neutral register)
der Onkel
the uncle
Questions & Answers about Der Onkel hat mehr Wein getrunken als der Großvater.
Why is als der Großvater placed after the past participle getrunken?
In German, the past participle usually goes at the very end of the clause. However, elements like comparisons starting with als or wie are frequently placed in the Nachfeld (the area after the final verb). This makes the sentence sound less clumsy and keeps the main verbs closer together.
Is it grammatically wrong to put als der Großvater before getrunken?
Why is Großvater in the nominative case (der) here?
In German comparisons, the item after als takes the same case as the thing it is being compared to. Because the grandfather is being compared to the subject, der Onkel (nominative), der Großvater must also be nominative. You can think of it as a shortened version of ... als der Großvater getrunken hat.
Could als ever be followed by an accusative noun in a similar sentence?
Yes, but it changes the meaning! If the sentence compared the grandfather to an accusative object, he would take the accusative too. For example, Ich kenne den Onkel besser als den Großvater means I know the uncle better than I know the grandfather. In our original sentence, both men are doing the drinking, so they are both subjects.
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