Breakdown of Dieses Brot ist billiger als das andere.
sein
to be
das Brot
the bread
dieses
this
als
than
billig
cheap
das andere
the other
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Questions & Answers about Dieses Brot ist billiger als das andere.
Why is billiger used here instead of mehr billig?
In German you form the comparative of most adjectives by adding -er to the base form (billig → billiger). You do not need mehr (“more”) before one‑stem adjectives. Some adjectives have irregular vowel changes (e.g. groß → größer), but billig is regular.
Why doesn’t billiger have an ending like billigeres or billigere?
Here billiger appears in predicative position (it stands after the verb ist), so it remains uninflected. Attributive adjectives (those before a noun) do get endings: for example, ein billigeres Brot.
Why is als used in this sentence, and not wie?
German uses als to express an unequal comparison (“… more X than …”). Use wie only for equal comparisons: “so billig wie” (“as cheap as”). Since the sentence compares two breads unequally, you need als.
Should there be a comma before als in ist billiger als das andere?
No. When als introduces only a noun phrase for comparison (no verb), it’s part of the main clause and takes no comma. A comma appears only if als introduces a full clause with its own verb (e.g. Er ist älter, als du denkst.).
What does das andere mean, and why are both words neuter?
das andere literally means “the other (one).” We’re referring back to Brot (a neuter noun), so both the demonstrative article das and the adjective‑turned‑pronoun andere take the neuter form.
Can we say als das andere Brot instead of als das andere?
Yes. als das andere is an elliptical form where Brot is understood. If you want to be explicit, you can say als das andere Brot and nothing in meaning changes.
Why is dieses used for “this” in Dieses Brot and not dieser?
dieses is the correct neuter nominative form of the demonstrative stem dies‑. Because Brot is neuter and serves as the subject in the nominative case, you use dieses Brot.
Could we use another adjective like günstiger instead of billiger?
Yes. günstiger and billiger both mean “cheaper” in many contexts. You could perfectly say Dieses Brot ist günstiger als das andere with the same meaning.