The more…, the more…
Two things vary together
Related Activities
| THE MORE…, THE… | AS MORE, THEN |
|---|---|
We use a reduced clause in each part of a The more…, the … expression. A comparative word form is used in each part. A comma separates the two clauses. |
The meaning varies from cause-effect actions to simply same-time occurrences. Not every As more, then sentence can be restated as a The more…, the … expression. |
The more the building shook, the more we held on. |
As/Because the shaking of the building grew stronger, we held on more. |
The more the wave rose, the faster we ran. |
As/Because the wave rose higher, we ran faster. |
The more we saw, the less we could believe. |
As we saw more (destruction), it was harder to believe (what we saw). |
The more we looked, the fewer things we found to retrieve. |
As we looked, we found fewer things to retrieve (from the debris). |
retrieve (v.) – to find something and bring it back
debris (n.) – the pieces of something that are left after it has been destroyed in an accident, explosion
Related page More / -er
Expected vs. Unexpected Outcome
| EXPECTED OUTCOME | UNEXPECTED OUTCOME |
|---|---|
In some expressions, the second variation is expected. Note that the word, verb, phrase and clause forms are parallel in each part of the expression. |
In other expressions, the second variation is unexpected or contrary. The word forms should be parallel in each half of the expression. |
THE + NOUN The larger the paycheck, the greater the purchase. noun-noun |
THE + NOUN The larger the paycheck, the higher the tax. |
The lower the rates, the more the borrowers. |
The lower the rates, the fewer the lenders. |
THE + ADJECTIVE *The stronger, the better. (coffee, nations, will) adjective-adjective |
THE + ADJECTIVE The stronger, the worse. (Unclear context, not an expression) |
The bigger, the better. (toys, cars) adjective-adjective |
The smaller, the better. (computers, phones, microchips) adjective-adjective |
The more, the merrier. (people) adjective-adjective |
(Less is better.) |
THE + CLAUSE The higher they rise, the more they benefit. clause-clause |
THE + CLAUSE The higher they rise, the harder they fall. (politicians, leaders, businessmen) |
The older I get, the more I understand. |
The older I get, the younger I feel. |
The more you give, the more you receive. (love, wealth) |
The more your take, the more you lose. (love, wealth) |
The more you learn, the more your earn. (education) |
The more I learn, the less I know. |
The stronger, the better – "Note that in this structure, the word the is not really the definite article— it was originally a form of the demonstrative pronoun, meaning 'by that much'." — Swan (139.5)
The more expression used with count and noncount nouns
| COUNT NOUN | NONCOUNT NOUN |
|---|---|
For some nouns, both a plural and singular forms exists. In this case, expressions that are more specific, tend to use the plural count noun. |
General expressions tend to use the noncount noun or singular noun (but not always). Proverbs tend to use noncount nouns. |
The better your education is, the greater opportunities you will have. (rewards) |
The better the education, the greater the opportunity. (reward) |
The more you plan, the better experiences you will have. |
The better the planning, the better the experience. |
The more input we have, the better our conversations will be. |
The more the input, the better the conversation. |
The better we sleep, the more rested our minds will be. |
The better the sleep, the more rested the mind. |
Related page Count / Noncount (both sing. & pl.)
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
The more we saw, the more our disbelief. Unbalance, unparallel clause structure
|
The more we saw, the less we could believe / the more we couldn't believe. The greater the disaster, the more the disbelief. |
The more, the worse. Unclear reference |
Does the number of cars allowed into the city center cause traffic? (add context) The more (cars), the worse (the traffic). |
The more rain, the worse flood. Phrasing problem |
The more it rains, the worse the flooding is. (complete the clause)
|
Resource
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 4th ed. 2009: Oxford University Press. Print.
Practice 1
The more…, the more!
- Select the word or words that best complete the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer to the right by clicking the "check" button.
Practice 2
Expressions & Sayings
- Select the word or words that best complete the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer to the right by clicking the "check" button.