Breakdown of Этот соус острый, но красный перец намного острее.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
красный
red
соус
sauce
но
but
намного
much, by far
острый
sharp, spicy
перец
the pepper
Questions & Answers about Этот соус острый, но красный перец намного острее.
How do we form the word острее (spicier) from the base adjective?
The base adjective for "spicy" or "sharp" is острый. To make the comparative form (spicier), we drop the masculine ending -ый and add the comparative suffix -ее, giving us острее.
Why do we use намного instead of just много for "much"?
When modifying a comparative adjective to say "much more" or "a lot more", Russian uses намного (which literally means "by a lot"). Using just много острее would sound unnatural to a native speaker.
Can I use the shorter -ей ending for the comparative here?
Yes! In everyday spoken Russian, the -ее ending is frequently shortened to -ей. So, saying намного острей is completely natural and means exactly the same thing.
Why are there no verbs in either half of this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (is/are/am) is almost always dropped. That is why we just place the subject and the adjective side by side: Этот соус острый (This sauce [is] spicy) and красный перец... острее (red pepper [is]... spicier).
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