German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Comparative Clauses with je … desto
In Vietnamese, the sentence structure “the more … the more” is used to emphasize and enhance the expressiveness of a sentence. German also has a pair of conjunctions with a similar function: je … desto. Today's article will introduce 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 combines two clauses, where the subordinate clause (Nebensatz) goes with the conjunction je and the main clause (Hauptsatz) goes with the conjunction desto. A change in one thing or matter in the je clause brings about a change in another thing or matter in the desto clause.
|
Nebensatz |
Hauptsatz |
|
Je + 1.Adjektiv (Komparativ) + S + ….. + V, |
desto + 2.Adjektiv (Komparativ) + V + S + … |
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Je mehr Geld man ausgibt, |
desto weniger Geld kann man sparen. |
|
(The more money one spends, the less money one can save.) |
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- 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 uses.)
- In addition, we can use the conjunction 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 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.)
