{"id":4780,"date":"2016-12-19T18:58:07","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T18:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=4780"},"modified":"2016-12-19T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T18:58:07","slug":"trappen-van-vergelijking-whats-the-tallest-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/trappen-van-vergelijking-whats-the-tallest-tower\/","title":{"rendered":"Trappen van Vergelijking – What’s The Tallest Tower?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big. Bigger. Biggest. Enthusiastic. More enthusiastic. Most enthusiastic. We all know these forms, these\u00a0trappen van vergelijking\u00a0<\/em>(“stairs of comparison” – degrees of comparison). How do they look in Dutch? Find out here.<\/p>\n

The basics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are three degrees of comparison: positive (full, great, wide), comparative (fuller, greater, wider) and superlative (fullest, greatest, widest). Easy! This is the same in Dutch, however with different names:<\/p>\n

positive =\u00a0stellende trap\u00a0<\/em>(stating stair) \/\u00a0positief<\/em><\/p>\n

comparative =\u00a0vergrotende trap\u00a0<\/em>(enlarging stair) \/\u00a0comparatief<\/em><\/p>\n

superlative =\u00a0overtreffende trap\u00a0<\/em>(exceeding stair) \/\u00a0superlatief<\/em><\/p>\n

As you can see, there are the proper Dutch forms, but also the ones we already know in English. Both are fine. The positive is used to express the state of a noun by using a adjective (“stating stair”). The comparative is used to compare between nouns and point out those that are larger than the other in the quality of the adjective (“enlarging stair”). The superlative is used to point out the noun with most of the quality of the adjective (“exceeding stair”). Sounds complicated, but you get the point!<\/p>\n

So, what do these look like in Dutch? The forms look very similar to English, so it is not too difficult! Let’s start with the\u00a0stellende trap.<\/em><\/p>\n

De stellende trap<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

De toren is hoog.\u00a0<\/em>(The tower is tall.)<\/p><\/div>\n

De\u00a0stellende trap\u00a0<\/em>is an easy one. It is just an adjective that states something about an object, in the example above it is the fact that the tower is tall. Nothing special here – piece of cake!<\/p>\n

Some examples:<\/p>\n

Het huis is klein.\u00a0<\/em>(The house is small.)<\/p>\n

De wachtkamer is vol.\u00a0<\/em>(The waiting room is full.)<\/p>\n

Het is een normale dag.\u00a0<\/em>(It is a normal day.)<\/p>\n

De vergrotende trap<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

De linker toren is hoger dan de rechter toren.<\/em> (The left tower is taller than the right tower.)<\/p><\/div>\n

De\u00a0vergrotende trap\u00a0<\/em>becomes more interesting. In the example above, you can see the construction\u00a0hoger\u00a0<\/em>dan\u00a0<\/em>(taller than). Remember:\u00a0dan\u00a0<\/em>is always used in the comparative, in the\u00a0vergrotende trap<\/em>. If you see\u00a0hoger\u00a0<\/em>als<\/em>, then you found a mistake! It is one of the more frequent mistakes made in Dutch, also by the Dutch. Only where the compared nouns are equal,\u00a0als\u00a0<\/em>is used, for example:\u00a0Deze toren is zo hoog als de Euromast in Rotterdam.\u00a0<\/em>(This tower is as tall\u00a0as the Euromast in Rotterdam.) However, if you put a\u00a0niet\u00a0<\/em>in that sentence, you get a difference in height between the towers:\u00a0Die\u00a0<\/em>toren is niet zo hoog als de Euromast<\/em>\u00a0(That tower is not as tall as the Euromast) – and your mind may then expect\u00a0dan.\u00a0<\/em>But of course, it has to be\u00a0als\u00a0<\/em>here!<\/p>\n

You can make a\u00a0vergrotende trap\u00a0<\/em>by taking the adjective\u00a0+ er\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0mooier\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(more beautiful),\u00a0leuker\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(nicer), much the same as in English. In words ending on an\u00a0-e<\/em>, you just add an\u00a0r<\/em>,\u00a0<\/strong>of course:\u00a0oranjer\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(more orange).<\/p>\n

Anyway, some examples of\u00a0de vergrotende trap<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Kees is kleiner dan<\/span> Sara.\u00a0<\/em>(Kees is\u00a0shorter than<\/span> Sara.)<\/p>\n

Het is makkelijker<\/span> om een vierkant te tekenen dan<\/span> een cirkel.\u00a0<\/em>(It is easier<\/span> to draw a square than<\/span> a circle.)<\/p>\n

Drie plus drie is meer dan<\/span> twee plus twee.\u00a0<\/em>(three plus three is more than<\/span> two plus two.)<\/p>\n

De overtreffende trap<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Welke toren is het hoogst?<\/em> (Which tower is the highest?)<\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0overtreffende trap\u00a0<\/em>is, again, pretty much the same as in English. You take the adjective +\u00a0st\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0mooist\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(most beautiful),\u00a0leukst\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(nicest). In English,\u00a0“more” and “most” are used for words where there would be clear pronunciation issues by just adding\u00a0“-st” (think:\u00a0beautifullest, patheticst). Such problems also occur in Dutch:\u00a0enthousiast, enthousiaster<\/strong>,\u00a0meest\u00a0<\/strong>enthousiast\u00a0<\/em>(because\u00a0enthousiastst\u00a0<\/em>would just be unnecessarily difficult). The same for\u00a0meest\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>logisch\u00a0<\/em>(because\u00a0logischst\u00a0<\/em>is crazy!) So here, you can use\u00a0meest + stellende trap<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cases where m<\/em>eest\u00a0<\/em>+ stellende trap\u00a0<\/em>are used are the following:<\/p>\n