Skip to 0 minutes and 4 secondsNow adjectives also have different forms in the forms of comparatives and superlatives. First, let's see what we are discussing. "Moai, moaier, moaist." "Goed, better, bêst." "Lekker, lekkerder, lekkerst." "Grut, grutter, grutst." "Lyts, lytser, lytst." Adjectives can be used to construct the regular form of the comparative and superlative. To construct a comparative from an adjective, -er is added. "Moai, moaier".
Skip to 1 minute and 0 secondsBeautiful, more beautiful. "Grut, grutter".
Skip to 1 minute and 6 secondsBig, bigger. When an adjective ends in -er, the ending -der is added. "Lekker, lekkerder".
Skip to 1 minute and 20 secondsDelicious, more delicious. "Djoer, djoerder".
Skip to 1 minute and 28 secondsExpensive, more expensive.
Skip to 1 minute and 32 secondsNow there's also the superlative. To construct a superlative from an adjective, -st is added. "Moai, moaist".
Skip to 1 minute and 44 secondsMost beautiful. "Grut, grutst". Biggest. "Lekker, lekkerst".
Skip to 1 minute and 54 secondsMost delicious. "Djoer, djoerst".
Skip to 2 minutes and 0 secondsMost expensive. However, some Frisian comparative and superlative forms are irregular. Here are some examples. "Folle, mear, meast." "Goed, better, bêst." "Graach, leaver, leafst." "Min, minder, minst." In some cases, an -e is added to a comparative or superlative. The rules for adding the -e are the same as with adjectives.
Skip to 2 minutes and 45 secondsAn example. "It idee", "it bettere idee", "in better idee".
Skip to 2 minutes and 56 seconds"De baan", "de moaiere baan", "in moaiere baan".
Skip to 3 minutes and 5 secondsHere are some examples from the dialogues. "Dat makket it lekkerder." That makes it tastier. "Oare kear better." Next time it'll be better. "Miskien in bytsje mear sâlt?" Maybe a wee bit more salt? "Folle grutter." Much bigger. "Dy sliepkeamer is wat lytser." That bedroom is a bit smaller.
Watch and read: comparatives and superlatives
Watch the video about comparatives and superlatives and read the explanation below.
Comparatives and superlatives
Adjectives are used to construct the regular form of the comparative and superlative.
Construction of the comparative
To construct a comparative from an adjective -er is added.
moai - moaier
grut - grutter
When an adjective ends in -r, the ending -der is added
lekker - lekkerder
djoer - djoerder
Construction of the superlative
To construct a superlative from an adjective -st is added.
moai - moaist
grut - grutst
lekker - lekkerst
djoer - djoerst
Irregular forms
Some Frisian comparative and superlative forms are irregular.
For example:
| folle - mear - meast | many - more - most |
| goed - better - bêst | good - better - best |
| graach - leaver - leafst | like to - like more - like best |
| min - minder - minst | bad - worse - worst |
In some cases an -e is added to a comparative or superlative. The rules for adding the -e are the same as with adjectives.
For example
It idee
| it bettere idee | in better idee |
De baan
| de moaiere baan | in moaiere baan |
Practise with Quizlet
Would you like to practise Frisian grammar? Please visit our grammar section on comparatives and superlatives on Quizlet (you might like to open this link in a new window).
Do you have any questions about Frisian grammar? Share your comments and questions in the discussion below.
© University of Groningen
