Turkish Grammar › Postpositions
Karşılaştırma ve Üstünlük (-DAn daha / en)
Comparative and Superlative
Level A1Postpositions
«-DAn daha» compares two things, while «en» marks the highest one in a group.
In Turkish the structure «-DAn daha» is used to compare two people, objects or situations. The first item compared takes the ablative ending «-dan / -den / -tan / -ten», and then comes «daha», which marks the higher degree, followed by the adjective. The ablative ending varies according to sound harmony; after a word ending in a voiceless consonant, for example, it becomes «-tan / -ten». As in «Ali, Ahmet’ten daha uzundur» (Ali is taller than Ahmet), this structure states the difference in degree between two items clearly.
To say that something is above all the other members of a particular group — that it comes first — the superlative adverb «en» is used. «En» goes directly in front of the adjective and gives it the highest degree. In «Sınıfın en çalışkan öğrencisi Ali’dir» (Ali is the hardest-working student in the class) or «Dünyanın en yüksek dağı Everest’tir» (Everest is the highest mountain in the world), the highest degree within the group is expressed. When speaking about a group, the genitive ending «-(n)In» or the locative ending «-DA» is often used: «sınıfın en çalışkanı» or «dünyadaki en büyük».
Examples
- İstanbul Ankara’dan daha kalabalık.İstanbul is more crowded than Ankara.
- Ayşe eşinden daha genç.Ayşe is younger than her husband.
- Bugün dünden daha sıcak.Today is hotter than yesterday.
- Özlem sınıfın en başarılı öğrencisi.Özlem is the most successful student in the class.
- Everest dünyadaki en yüksek dağ.Everest is the highest mountain in the world.