Double comparatives are phrases commonly used in English to express proportionate increase or decrease, to say that when something increases or decreases. This structure compares two things and their relationship to each other. Double comparatives can be used with ‘more’ and ‘less’ as well as with adjectives, adverbs and nouns. Here are some examples of double comparatives.
THE MORE …. THE MORE
• The more difficult the test is, the more students should study.
• The more I see you, the more I like you.
• The more I study, the more I learn.
• The more I watch my diet, the more weight I put on.
• The more languages you speak, the more people will respect you.
• The more money he makes, the more expensive things he buys.
• The more money we give them, the more they request.
• The more money you have, the more things you can buy.
• The more we work, the more we earn.
• The more you laugh, the more relaxed you feel.
• The more you learn, the more you know.
• The more you plan, the more organised you are.
THE MORE … THE LESS
• The more education people get, the less likely they are to get married early.
• The more food I see, the less appetite I have.
• The more I read, the less I remember.
• The more I worry, the less I sleep.
• The more money you spend, the less money you save.
• The more she flatters me, the less I tend to believe her.
• The more the sales assistant explains, the less I understand.
• The more we spend, the less we save.
• The more you know, the less you are sure of.
THE LESS … THE MORE
• The less I think about the problem, the more relaxed I feel.
• The less we spend, the more we save.
• The less people listen, the more impatient they become.
• The less I concentrate, the more I forget.
• The less we worry, the more relaxed we become.
• The less I see people, the more isolated I become.
• The less you exercise, the more weight you put on.
THE LESS … THE LESS
• The less money I spend, the less I have to worry about saving.
• The less you worry about the others, the less they will bother you.
The above forms can be mixed up as well. For example, a double comparative might begin with a ‘more’ / ‘less’ plus a subject and then end in a comparative adjective plus the subject.
• The less developed a country is, the lower the life expectancy.
• The less you know, the better.
• The more difficult the task is, the sweeter it is to succeed.
• The more educated women are, the later they marry.
• The more education people get, the less likely they are to get married early.
• The more balanced your diet is, the healthier you are.
• The more you earn, the easier your life is.
• The more you eat, the fatter you become.
• The more you practice, the faster your English will improve.
We can make comparisons using adjectives, adverbs and nouns.
ADJECTIVES:
• The angrier the teacher is, the worse I feel.
• The better the quality of health care, the longer the life expectancy.
• The bigger the house, the more expensive it is.
• The brighter the sun, the happier people feel.
• The colder the weather is, the hungrier I am.
• The darker the berry, the juicier it is.
• The earlier you leave, the better it is.
• The faster the car is, the more dangerous it is to drive.
• The faster we work, the more effective we are.
• The harder people work, the more successful they are.
• The harder you study English, the more confidently you speak.
• The harder you work, the more money you earn.
• The heavier it rains, the darker the sky is.
• The higher the interest rate, the fewer people get loans.
• The higher you climb, the colder it gets.
• The less you know, the better.
• The longer people wait to get married, the fewer children they have.
• The older he gets, the kinder he becomes.
• The older we grow, the wiser we become.
• The older you get, the more tired you are.
• The older you are, the more experience you have.
• The stronger the wind blows, the colder we feel.
• The younger you are, the easier it is to learn English.
• The younger you begin to learn a language, the easier it is.
ADVERBS:
• The faster you walk, the more quickly you will arrive.
• The harder you work, the more rapidly you will obtain results.
• The more carefully you plan, the better the result will be.
• The more hurriedly something is done, the more easily mistakes are made.
• The more quickly a car is driven, the more likely it is to cause an accident.
NOUNS:
• The more furniture I buy, the more space I need.
• The more ideas you have, the more projects you will develop.
• The more money a person has, the more privilege they enjoy.
• The more orders we receive, the more goods we produce.
• The more sales we make, the more commission we earn.
SHORT FORM
A short form of this structure is used in sentences ending in ‘better’, for example:
• How do you like your coffee? – The stronger the better.
• What price range are you interested in? – The cheaper the better.
• What sort of presentation should I prepare? – The shorter the better!
• What time would you like me to come? – The earlier the better.
• When should I come? – The sooner the better.
• Would you like to get a bigger present? – Of course, the bigger the better.
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