Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 6/22

ば~(ほど)

The more…the more

The conditional part of the structure is sometimes omitted. この豆を食べれば食べるほど痩せるらしい。→ この豆を食べるほど痩せるらしい。

Structure

Verb[)+ Verb [る](*) + ほど
[い]Adjective[)+ [い]Adjective(*) + ほど

[な]Adjective + なら(ば))+ [な]Adjective(*) + + ほど
[な]Adjective + であれば)+ である + ほど

(Noun + なら(ば))+ Noun(*) + ほど
(Noun + であれば)+ である + ほど

(*) The same Adjective, Verb or Noun has to be repeated

Details

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About ば〜ほど

ば~ほど is a combination of the conjunction particle , and the noun ほど. It is used in a similar way to 'the more ~ the more' in English. Literally, it just highlights that 'if it is (A), then the limit of (A) will be controlled only by its extent'.
To use ば~ほど, will be paired with the hypothetical form of any verb/い-Adjective (or noun/な-Adjective with なら on the end), before the same word will be repeated in its attributive form. After this, a (B) part of the sentence will highlight what the expected result of (A) is.
  • いい(にく)()()ほど(あじ)()る。
    The more you chew good meat, the more flavorful it gets.
  • 公園(こうえん)(ひろ)けれ(ひろ)ほどいい
    The bigger the park is, the better it is.
  • ビルは丈夫(じょうぶ)なら丈夫(じょうぶ)ほど安心(あんしん)できる。
    The stronger a building is, the safer you feel.
  • プロならプロほど(はや)(およ)げる。
    The more of a pro you are, the faster you can swim.
As である (the formal version of ) may replace な with な-Adjectives (or なら with nouns), sometimes である will be used instead of な/なら, in regard to both nouns and な-Adjectives.
  • アプリ便利(べんり)であれ便利(べんり)であるほどユーザー()える。
    The more useful an app is, the more users will increase.
  • 職人(しょくにん)であれ職人(しょくにん)であるほど(すご)いもの(つく)れる。
    The more of a craftsman a person is, the more likely that they will be able to make something amazing.
Caution
When this expression is used with する verbs, the noun that する is linked to in the part of the sentence does not need to be repeated in the ほど part.
  • 漢字(かんじ)勉強(べんきょう)すれするほど(いろ)んな(ほん)()めるようになる
    The more you study kanji, the more you will be able to read various books.
  • 掃除(そうじ)すれするほど部屋(へや)綺麗(きれい)になっていく
    The more you clean, the cleaner your room will get.
Fun Fact
Sometimes, the 'hypothetical' part of the sentence will be omitted altogether, leaving ほど to perform a similar function by itself.
  • 身体(からだ)(きた)えるほど身体(からだ)(つよ)くなる。
    The more you workout, the stronger your body gets.

Examples

  • この(まめ)()べれ()べるほど()せるらしい。

    I hear that the more of these beans you eat the thinner you will become.

  • (はや)けれ(はや)ほどいい

    The sooner the better.

  • 綺麗(きれい)ならば綺麗(きれい)ほど()(つづ)けたくなる

    The more beautiful it is, the more I want to continue looking at it.

  • スーパー(ちか)けれ(ちか)ほど()(もの)()きやすい。

    The closer the supermarket, the easier it is to go shopping.

  • ()()ほど、またやりたくなる

    The more you win, the more you want to play again.

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ば〜ほど – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (19 in total)

  • focamotivada

    focamotivada

    About 4 days ago

    Hi everyone! I have a question regarding these two points:

    (Noun + であ****れば )+ である + ほど

    And:

    ([な]Adjective + であ****れば )+ である + ほど

    Am I missing something or there is no example sentences portraying this format? I don’t fully understand if it should be, for example, something along the lines of: 静かであればである程 OR if I’m missing something and it should be 静かであれば静かである程.

    Can someone confirm if I need to repeat the noun/na adjective between であれば and である, please?

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    About 4 days ago

    You can repeat it in the way that you did, but you don’t have to. If it’s not repeated it should be 静かであればあるほど without the で. The same applies to nouns too.

  • focamotivada

    focamotivada

    About 4 days ago

    I see, thank you so much!! This makes more sense to me now.

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