Breakdown of Die Ausgaben waren leider höher, als wir am Anfang schätzten.
sein
to be
wir
we
leider
unfortunately
hoch
high
als
than
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
am Anfang
at the beginning
schätzen
to estimate
die Ausgabe
the expense
Questions & Answers about Die Ausgaben waren leider höher, als wir am Anfang schätzten.
Why is the verb schätzten at the very end of the sentence?
In this sentence, als acts as a subordinating conjunction introducing a real comparative clause. This means it kicks the conjugated verb (schätzten) to the end of the clause. You will see this verb-final word order whenever you use als to compare a fact or situation with another full clause.
Could I use wie instead of als here?
In standard German, no. Because you are expressing an inequality or difference (they were höher / higher), you must use als. You only use wie when two things are equal (for example, so hoch wie). You might hear native speakers use wie for inequalities in certain regional dialects, but it is considered incorrect in standard written German.
Why does hoch change its spelling so much to become höher?
The adjective hoch is irregular. When it forms the comparative, it drops the c and adds an umlaut, becoming höher. Interestingly, the c comes back in the superlative form: am höchsten.
Why use the Präteritum (simple past) schätzten instead of the Perfekt geschätzt haben?
You could absolutely use the Perfekt here and say ...als wir am Anfang geschätzt haben. However, the Präteritum (schätzten) is often preferred in written German because it flows better and avoids stacking multiple verbs at the very end of the subordinate clause.
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