Learn Hardcore German: Der Vergleich der Preise zeigt große Unterschiede. - The comparison of the prices shows big differences.

The first der is the definite article for Vergleich (masculine, singular, nominative), marking it as the subject. The second der is the genitive plural article for die Preise, showing possession (“the comparison of the prices”). In German, the genitive plural article is also der.

What case is der Preise, and why is it used here?

Der Preise is genitive plural. The genitive case expresses “of …” or possession/association. In this sentence, it tells us whose comparison it is—the comparison of the prices. Genitive is common in formal or written German.

Why is the verb zeigt in the second position, even though Der Vergleich der Preise comes first?

German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule: the finite verb must occupy the second position in the clause. Here, Der Vergleich der Preise counts as the first element, so zeigt comes immediately after.

Why is there no article before große Unterschiede?

Große Unterschiede is an indefinite, plural direct object. When an adjective-noun pair has no article, German uses the strong adjective declension. Omitting the article emphasizes “big differences” in general rather than “the differences.”

Why does the adjective große end with -e?

Under strong declension for accusative plural (no article), adjectives take the ending -e. A quick schema for strong declension: • Nom. Plural: -e
• Acc. Plural: -e
Since Unterschiede is a plural direct object, the adjective is große.

Could I say die großen Unterschiede instead?

Yes. Using the definite article die specifies particular differences. Then we switch to weak adjective declension for plural: • die großen Unterschiede
Here großen uses the -en ending required after a definite article in the plural.

Is Unterschiede the regular plural of Unterschied, and how is it formed?

Yes. Unterschied is a masculine noun whose plural is formed with -e: Unterschiede. There’s no umlaut change in this case.

Why is große spelled with ß and not ss?

German orthography uses ß after long vowels and diphthongs. The “o” in groß is long, so you write ß. After a short vowel (e.g. Masse), you’d see ss.

Could you rephrase the sentence using a compound noun like Preisvergleich?

Absolutely. German often prefers compounds in everyday usage. You can say: Der Preisvergleich zeigt große Unterschiede. Here, Preisvergleich (price comparison) replaces Vergleich der Preise without changing the meaning.