につれてas … changes, so does …
One thing changes little by little, and a second thing changes along with it. English says "as": as you get older, as time passes.
As I got used to Japanese, I looked at the subtitles less often.
How to form it
Verb dictionary form／noun for a change + につれて
The verb stays in the dictionary form even when the sentence is about the past. In writing it is also につれ.
- Before it
- A change that takes time: 時間がたつ (time passes), 年を取る (get older), 慣れる (get used to), 進む (move forward), 増える (increase). Or a noun for one: 成長, 増加.
- After it
- Another gradual change, often with なる, ていく or てくる.
- Tone
- Neutral, not stiff.
- Where you'll meet it
- Conversation, essays and the news.
In use
As I've gotten older, staying up all night has become harder.
年齢を重ねる is a gentler way to say 年を取る.
As I've gotten older, I've lost stamina.
As time went by, I grew more and more anxious.
As we got farther from the station, there were fewer shops.
As the population grows, the housing shortage is becoming more serious.
A noun, with につれ.
Not for a single moment
English "as" also means "just when". につれて doesn't: what comes before it has to take time.
Not said: 駅に
(As I got to the station, it started to rain.)
Arriving is one moment, so it is 駅に着いたとき. Getting closer takes time: 駅に近づくにつれて、人が増えてきた.
Close neighbours
とともにN3
The same "as" in a stiffer voice, for news and reports. After a person it means "together with".
As the population ages, social security costs are rising too.
ば～ほどN3
"The more…, the more…". It needs no change over time, and it takes adjectives, which につれて can't.
The closer to the station, the higher the rent.
にしたがってN2
The same meaning, a little more formal. You will see it in reports and explanations.
As you go farther north, the temperature drops.
Check yourself
1Which sentence sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
2"As I got used to life in Japan, I made more friends."
日本の
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
As the town has developed, rents have gone up too.
As the treatment went on, the pain eased.
As children grow, their range of interests widens.
As the night wore on, the streets grew quieter.