New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

In der Schule: superlative adjectives and adverbs

I can form and use superlative adjectives and adverbs when discussing topics in a school context.

New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

In der Schule: superlative adjectives and adverbs

I can form and use superlative adjectives and adverbs when discussing topics in a school context.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Use the superlative to express the highest degree of something, e.g., 'the most'.
  2. To form the superlative use ‘am’ before the adjective/adverb, and then add ‘-sten’.
  3. Prenominal superlative adjectives use the definite article then add '-st' plus the appropriate ending to the adjective.
  4. Some superlatives are irregular.
  5. Superlatives can be used to develop writing.

Keywords

  • Superlative - a form of adjective or adverb used to express the highest degree of a quality, e.g., 'the tallest', 'the most interesting'

  • Prenominal adjective - an adjective that appears before the noun it modifies

Common misconception

Many English superlatives use 'most', so you need to use 'meist' in German.

German superlatives use 'am -sten'. 'Most interesting' ist 'am interessantesten', and 'most difficult' is 'am schwierigsten'. No additional German word is required for 'most'.


To help you plan your year 10 German lesson on: In der Schule: superlative adjectives and adverbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Superlatives are Higher-tier grammar. However, all pupils will gain substantial communicative value from adding the most common prenominal superlatives to their repertoire, e.g., 'der, die, das beste/schlimmste ...'. Some pupils will then develop their use of superlatives with a range of adjectives.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
'Ich entscheide mich __________ dieses Auto.' Choose the correct missing word.
auf
bei
Correct answer: für
über
um
Q2.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:gar,at all

at all

Correct Answer:ja,yes

yes

Correct Answer:je,ever, each

ever, each

Correct Answer:noch,still, yet, even

still, yet, even

Correct Answer:sehr,very

very

Correct Answer:weg,gone, vanished

gone, vanished

Q3.
Match the German and English.
Correct Answer:glücklicherweise,luckily

luckily

Correct Answer:kurz,short

short

Correct Answer:lang,long

long

Correct Answer:langsam,slow

slow

Correct Answer:schön,beautiful

beautiful

Correct Answer:sicher,safe, secure

safe, secure

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'Why was it impossible to learn German?'
1 - wieso
2 - war
3 - es
4 - unmöglich
5 - Deutsch
6 - zu
7 - lernen
Q5.
Write in English: 'Ich frage mich, ob es regnet.'
Correct Answer: I wonder if it is raining, I wonder if it's raining, I wonder whether it is raining, I wonder whether it's raining
Q6.
Write in German: 'We are doing an exchange.'
Correct Answer: Wir machen einen Austausch

Assessment exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
Write 'darker' in German.
Correct Answer: dunkler
Q2.
'Dieses Buch ist __________ interessantesten.'. Choose the correct missing word.
Correct answer: am
das
mehr
meist
viel
Q3.
Match the adjectives to their irregular comparative and superlative forms.
Correct Answer:gut,besser, am besten

besser, am besten

Correct Answer:gern,lieber, am liebsten

lieber, am liebsten

Correct Answer:viel,mehr, am meisten

mehr, am meisten

Correct Answer:nah,näher, am nächsten

näher, am nächsten

Correct Answer:hoch,höher, am höchsten

höher, am höchsten

Q4.
Write in German: 'I swim the fastest.'
Correct Answer: Ich schwimme am schnellsten
Q5.
Write in German: 'The funniest class.'
Correct Answer: Die lustigste Klasse

Additional material

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