Posted by Very often, nouns and pronouns are compared to and/or measured with others based on certain criteria which could either be a positive or negative adjective or even their comparative form. How then is similar and dissimilar comparison or measurement done using als oder wie? Find out 🙂!
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| 1. What is similar comparison? 2. What is dissimilar comparison? 3. Comparison between wie and als |
What is similar comparison?
Similar comparison unlike unreal comparison is the type of comparison of attributes between two nouns or pronouns using the interrogative pronoun „wie“ in connection to a positive or negative adjective.
Comparison between two nouns or pronouns with similar attribute always forms a kind of “Nebensatz“ which may or may not have a verb. If the “comparer” decides to use a verb, then the verb goes to the end of the sentence.
Wie as an interrogative pronoun, a question-word or a subordinate conjunction, means either “how” or “when” depending on the context in English. But when used as a factor for comparison, it takes the meaning of “like” or “as” as illustrated in the sentences below.
What is dissimilar comparison?
Dissimilar comparison of nouns involves comparing a noun/pronoun to another in a way that shows the superiority or inferiority of one over the other, using the subordinate conjunction „als“ together with the comparative form.
In English, als could either be translated to as or when but as a factor for dissimilar comparison, it is best translated as than. Just like similar comparison with “wie”, dissimilar comparison with “als“ can either be used with or without a verb and likewise doesn’t require a comma like when used as a subordinate conjunction.
Comparison between Wie and Als
Note that:
- The difference between wie and als as a subordinate conjunction from when used as a comparison factor is with the usage of a comma with the former but not with the latter.
- The noun or pronoun after both wie and als are always in the nominative case.
| Comparative Usage | Wie | Als |
|---|---|---|
| Without a verb | Hans ist groß wie ich. (Hans is tall like me) | Hans ist großer als ich. (Hans is taller than me) |
| With a verb | Hans ist groß wie ich bin. (Hans is tall like i am) | Hans ist großer als ich bin. (Hans is taller than i am) |
Sometimes, the addition of certain other particles like so, genauso and ebenso to “wie” places more emphasis on the adjective. For example, see the table below.
| Comparing factor in German | Translation in English | Exemplary usage |
|---|---|---|
| wie | like | Deine Tochter ist klug wie du. |
| so … wie | as/so … as/like | Deine Tochter so klug wie du. |
| ebenso … wie | even as/ just as … as | Deine Tochter ist ebenso klug wie du. |
| genauso … wie | just so … like | Deine Tochter ist genauso klug wie du. |