Learn Hardcore German: Dein Lächeln ist heller als das Licht des Mondes. - Your smile is brighter than the light of the moon.

In German, every noun is written with a capital letter. Lächeln (“smile”) is a noun (formed from the verb lächeln), so it gets a capital L no matter where it appears in the sentence.

What does dein mean, and why not deine?

dein is the possessive pronoun for “your.” In German, possessive pronouns (like adjectives) must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify. Lächeln is a neuter noun in the nominative singular, so the correct form is dein Lächeln. If the noun were feminine (e.g. die Blume), you’d use deine Blume.

Why is the verb ist placed right after Dein Lächeln instead of at the end?

In a main clause, German follows the “verb-second” rule: the finite (conjugated) verb must occupy the second position. Here, the first position is taken by the subject Dein Lächeln, so ist comes directly after.

How do you form the comparative heller als?

To form a comparative in German, you add -er to the adjective stem and then use als to introduce the thing you’re comparing to.
• hell → heller
• heller + als → heller als (“brighter than”)

Why doesn’t heller have any additional ending (like helleres)?

When an adjective (or comparative) follows a linking verb such as sein (to be), it’s called a predicative adjective and remains uninflected. You only see adjective endings in attributive positions (e.g. ein heller Mond). After ist, you simply use heller without further endings.

What is des Mondes, and why not dem Mond or vom Mond?

des Mondes is the genitive singular form of der Mond (“the moon”). The genitive case indicates possession or origin, so das Licht des Mondes literally means “the light of the moon.” You could also say das Licht vom Mond (using von + dative), which is perfectly acceptable in spoken or colloquial German, but the genitive (des Mondes) is more formal or literary.

Why do we use als here, and not wie?

In German, als introduces comparisons of inequality (brighter than, faster than, etc.). wie is used when you compare equal things (as bright as, as fast as). Since the sentence says “brighter than the moon’s light,” you need als.

Is das Licht des Mondes in the nominative case, even though it follows als?

Yes. The phrase das Licht des Mondes isn’t governed by a preposition that changes its case; it serves as the second element in the comparison. You compare two nominative subjects—Dein Lächeln and das Licht des Mondes—so both remain in the nominative. The word als itself doesn’t impose a case.