Using Comparatives: als vs. wie
ತುಲನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ als ಮತ್ತು wie
The last lesson taught you the comparative form itself (schöner, größer); this one teaches the word that connects it to what you're comparing against — and German splits that connector in two, depending on whether the two things are unequal or equal.
Grammar Comparison
ವ್ಯಾಕರಣ ಹೋಲಿಕೆ
als for 'more/less than', wie for 'as...as'
Er ist größer als ich. (He is taller THAN me — unequal, comparative + als) vs. Er ist so groß wie ich. (He is as tall AS me — equal, so + adjective + wie)
ಅವನು ನನಗಿಂತ ಎತ್ತರ. (unequal, -ಗಿಂತ 'than/compared to') vs. ಅವನು ನನ್ನ ಹಾಗೆ ಎತ್ತರ. (equal, ಹಾಗೆ 'like/as')
Kannada already keeps these two comparison types apart with two different markers — -ಗಿಂತ ('than', for an unequal comparison) and ಹಾಗೆ ('like/as', for an equal one) — so the underlying instinct isn't new. German's version of that same split is als (only after a comparative form like größer, and only for inequality) versus wie (paired with so..., for equality). The single most common learner mistake is using wie after a comparative (größer wie ich) where als is required — keep the Kannada -ಗಿಂತ/ಹಾಗೆ split in mind and the correct German word usually follows.
Vocabulary
ಪದಗಳು
- Kannada
- ...ಗಿಂತ ಎತ್ತರ...ginta ettara
- English
- taller than
- Kannada
- ...ನ ಹಾಗೆ ಎತ್ತರ...na haage ettara
- English
- as tall as
- Kannada
- ...ಗಿಂತ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದು...ginta olleyadu
- English
- better than
- Kannada
- ...ನ ಹಾಗೆ ವೇಗವಾಗಿ...na haage vegavaagi
- English
- just as fast as