Breakdown of Der Hund mit der allerlängsten Schleife gewinnt.
der Hund
the dog
mit
with
gewinnen
to win
lang
long
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Schleife
the ribbon
Questions & Answers about Der Hund mit der allerlängsten Schleife gewinnt.
How does the prefix aller- change the meaning of the superlative here?
It acts as an intensifier. While längsten means "longest", adding aller- turns it into "the very longest" or "the longest of all". You can attach aller- directly to the superlative form of almost any adjective to give it this extra emphasis.
Why does the adjective end in -en (allerlängsten) instead of -e?
It follows standard adjective declension rules. The preposition mit requires the dative case. Because die Schleife is feminine, the definite article becomes der. After a dative definite article, adjectives take the weak ending -en. Adding the aller- prefix doesn't change how the adjective declines!
Why is there an umlaut in allerlängsten?
Many short, one-syllable adjectives with the vowels a, o, or u take an umlaut in their comparative and superlative forms. The base adjective is lang, which becomes längst- in the superlative. The aller- prefix simply attaches to that existing superlative root.
Does Schleife always mean "ribbon"?
Not always! While it means "ribbon" or "bow" (like one tied in a dog's hair or on a gift) in this context, Schleife can also mean a "loop" (like in a roller coaster or in computer programming) or a "curve".
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