ば～ほどthe more …, the more …
Say a word twice, once with ば and once with ほど, and you have "the more …, the more …": as one thing goes up, another changes with it.
This novel gets more interesting the more you read it.
The lighter the luggage, the easier it is to travel.
Verb
読めば読むほど
The ば-form, then the dictionary form. With a する verb, usually only する is said twice: 練習すればするほど.
い-adjective
高ければ高いほど
い becomes ければ, then the adjective as it is.
な-adjective
静かなら静かなほど
なら, then な. In writing also 静かであればあるほど.
ほど alone
読むほど・高いほど・静かなほど
The ば half is often left out: 早いほどいい, the sooner the better.
Say the word twice
The more you practice, the fewer unnecessary movements you make.
The lower the temperature, the faster the battery drains.
The simpler the explanation, the easier it is to remember.
Have you gotten used to the new tool yet?
Yeah. The more I use it, the more natural it feels in my hand.
Where English says "more"
Japanese has no word to drop in for "the more". The first half repeats a verb or an adjective, so "the more people" is 人が多ければ多いほど, with 多い (many) said twice. The second half only says what changes, and it can go down as well as up.
The more people there are, the more fun a party is.
The more I think about it, the less I understand.
Two to learn whole
早ければ早いほどいいthe sooner the better
The sooner you reply, the better.
多ければ多いほどいいthe more the better
The more people we have helping, the better.
ほど alone
Without the ば half, one ほど does the whole job: the two things still change together.
The more you practice, the better you get.
In full.
The more you practice, the better you get.
Short. It means the same.
Close neighbours
ほど・くらいN3
ほど as a plain measure, with nothing changing together: "so … that", "not as … as".
I was so nervous that my voice was trembling.
につれてN3
"As": one thing changes over time and another follows. It takes verbs and nouns, never an adjective.
As I got used to Japanese, I looked at the subtitles less often.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
2"The quieter the room, the better."
部屋は
Choose an answer to see why.
3What does this mean?
荷物は
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
The more experience you gain, the more you come to see your own weaknesses too.
The longer the distance, the higher the transportation cost.
The more detailed the materials are, the longer they take to check.
The more complex the system is, the longer it takes to explain.
The written shape for a な-adjective.