Breakdown of Das bei weitem sozialste Tier hier ist der Hund.
sein
to be
der Hund
the dog
hier
here
das Tier
the animal
sozial
social
bei weitem
by far
Questions & Answers about Das bei weitem sozialste Tier hier ist der Hund.
Why does bei weitem go between the article Das and the adjective sozialste?
When a degree adverb or phrase like bei weitem intensifies an adjective, it goes immediately before that adjective. Since the adjective sozialste belongs to the noun Tier and must follow the definite article Das, the whole intensifier phrase gets sandwiched inside the noun block: Das bei weitem sozialste Tier.
Could I use wesentlich or bedeutend instead of bei weitem in this sentence?
No, because sozialste is a superlative. Words like wesentlich and bedeutend mean "significantly" and are almost exclusively used to intensify comparatives (like bedeutend sozialer). To intensify a superlative, you need words that mean "by far", like bei weitem or weitaus.
Tier is a neuter noun, so why does the adjective end in -e (sozialste) instead of -es?
Because the phrase starts with a definite article (Das). When you have a definite article, the adjective takes a "weak" ending. For any nominative singular noun, regardless of gender, the weak ending is always just -e. You would only see the strong ending -es if there were no article.
Why is hier placed right after Tier?
In this sentence, hier is acting as an attribute that directly describes the noun phrase before it (meaning "the animal located here"). In German, adverbs of place often follow the noun they modify to keep the entire subject unit tightly grouped together before the verb ist.
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