Comparatives and Superlatives — Greenlandic Grammar

"More" is the suffix -neru-, and "most" is -nerpaa-. Both go inside the verb, straight after its stem: "is fun", "is more fun", "is the most fun".

How It Joins

After a vowel or an r, the suffix is simply added: "is big" becomes angineru-. Any other last consonant of the stem becomes n: "is warm", "is warmer".

More … Than

The thing compared with takes -mit, in the plural -nit, meaning "than".

Feeria ilimagisannit nuannerneruvoq.
The vacation is better than I expected.
Inuit maanimiut nunatsinnimiunit pinnernerupput.
The people here are prettier than at home.

Bigger and Smaller

"Bigger" and "smaller" have words of their own, and .

Nuna una Belgiamit anneroqaaq.
This country is much bigger than Belgium.
Frankrigi Ruslandimit minnerujussuuvoq.
France is much smaller than Russia.

A Bigger One

With -soq "one that", -neru- describes a thing, "a bigger one", mostly as -nerusumik.

Amerlanerusumik aningaasarsissaguma anginerusumik inissarsissaanga.
If I earn more money, I will buy a bigger apartment.
Nipitunerusumik oqalulaarit.
Speak up, please.

Prefer, Favorite

On a verb of liking, -neru- means "prefer" and -nerpaa- "like best".

Uku popcornit tarajornipput. Sukkullit mamarineruakka.
This popcorn is salty. I prefer sweet popcorn.
Suna filmi nuannarinerpaaviuk?
What's your favorite movie?

The Best of All

-nersaq "the most" is a noun; with -u- "be" it says "is the best".

Una neriniartarfik nunarsuarmi tamani pitsaanersaavoq.
This is the best restaurant in the world.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Greenlandic course

27 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 106. A few of them, with the words “Comparatives and Superlatives” is about in bold:

Sipaallaqqinnerussagaluaravit.
I wish you were more frugal.
Lesson 328

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