-dan/-dən (müqayisə)

To compare two things in Azerbaijani, you don't change the adjective into a special 'comparative' form like in English (e.g., 'big' to 'bigger'). The adjective remains in its base or dictionary form (known as the positive degree or adi dərəcə). Instead, you mark the noun or pronoun you are comparing against with the ablative case suffix.

1. Suffix Selection:
The suffix follows vowel harmony:

• -dan: Used after back vowels (a, ı, o, u). Example: Bakıdan (than Baku).
• -dən: Used after front vowels (e, ə, i, ö, ü). Examples: evdən (than the house) or məndən (than me).

Note: When attaching the ablative suffix to the third person singular pronoun 'o' (he/she/it/that) or the near demonstrative 'bu' (this), you must use an 'n' buffer consonant, resulting in ondan and bundan. For plural pronouns, the ablative attaches directly to the plural form (e.g., biz becomes bizdən, siz becomes sizdən, and onlar becomes onlardan). Additionally, when attaching the ablative suffix to a noun with a third-person singular possessive suffix, you must also use the buffer n (e.g., onun maşınından - than his car).

2. The Role of 'Daha' and 'Daha az':
While the word daha (more) is often used for emphasis, it is optional if the ablative suffix is already present. However, daha becomes mandatory if the standard of comparison (the 'than' part) is not explicitly mentioned in the sentence (e.g., Bu daha yaxşıdır - This is better). To express inferiority ('less than'), you use daha az before the adjective (e.g., Bu kitab o kitabdan daha az maraqlıdır - This book is less interesting than that book).

3. Predicative Suffixes:
In formal written Azerbaijani, the adjective typically takes a predicative suffix (copula) to function as the verb. For example, in 'A B-dən böyükdür' (A is bigger than B), the -dür suffix means 'is'. However, in everyday spoken Azerbaijani, this suffix is frequently omitted (e.g., 'A B-dən böyük' is perfectly natural).

4. Word Order:
Azerbaijani typically follows a SOV word order. In the comparative degree (müqayisə dərəcəsi), the standard (the thing you are comparing to) comes before the adjective.

5. A Note on Adjective Forms:
Unlike English, Azerbaijani adjectives don't change into a strict comparative form like '-er'. You might see the suffix -raq/-rək (e.g., yaxşıraq), but this means 'somewhat' or 'rather' (e.g., somewhat better), not a direct equivalent of the English '-er'.