Comparative clauses with je….desto

In Vietnamese, the sentence structure "càng … càng" is used to emphasize and enhance the expressive power of a sentence. German also has a pair of conjunctions with a similar function: je … desto. Today's article will introduce you to how to use this pair of conjunctions in comparative sentences.

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- The conjunction pair je……desto is used to form comparative sentences. The je … desto structure is used to combine two clauses, in which the subordinate clause (Nebensatz) pairs with the conjunction je and the main clause (Hauptsatz) pairs with the conjunction desto. The change of one thing or event in the je clause will bring about a corresponding change of another thing or event in the desto clause.

- We can replace desto with umso.

Je schneller ich mit dem Auto fahre, desto mehr Benzin verbraucht es.

= Je schneller ich mit dem Auto fahre, umso mehr Benzin verbraucht es.

(The faster I drive the car, the more fuel it consumes.)

- In addition, we can use the connector wenn to replace the conjunction pair je….desto/umso. For example:

Je mehr du arbeitest, desto mehr Geld verdienst du.

(The harder you work, the more money you earn.)= Wenn du mehr arbeitest, verdienst du mehr Geld.

(When you work harder, you will earn more money.)

- In some cases, the conjunction weil can also be used to replace this comparative conjunction pair:

Je mehr du arbeitest, desto mehr Geld verdienst du.

= Weil du mehr arbeitest, verdienst du mehr Geld.

(Because you work harder, you earn more money.)