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Parts of speech - Woordsoorten
Use of the comparative
The comparative is used in Dutch when two or more items are compared. When all of the compared elements are present in the sentence, the word dan (‘than') is used directly after the comparative. If other compared elements are not present, dan will not be present either (see the third and last sentence below):
| Kenny's kamer is groter dan Alans kamer. |
Kenny's room is bigger than Alan's room. |
| Is deze bloes leuker dan die andere? |
Is this blouse nicer than the other one? |
| Je moet de plakjes wel dunner snijden! |
You do have to cut the slices a bit thinner! |
| Wijn is veel duurder dan bier. |
Wine is a lot more expensive than beer. |
| Die jas staat je beter. |
That coat suits you better. |
The word dan in these sentences is a >>subordinating conjunction. In informal spoken Dutch you often hear als instead of dan.
Comparing items of equal value
The comparative is used to compare items of different value. Comparing items of equal value is done by means of the construction net zo [adjective] (als) or even [adjective] (als):
| Kamils band wordt net zo beroemd als De Dijk. |
Kamil's band will become (just) as famous as De Dijk. |
| Abdul is even lang als Harry. |
Abdul is as tall as Harry. |
| Sasha en Kamil zijn even aardig. |
Sasha and Kamil are equally nice. |
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