Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 6/22

ば～程(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［ば］）+ Verb ［る］(*) + ほど
（［い］Adjective［ば］）+ ［い］Adjective(*) + ほど

（［な］Adjective + なら（ば））+ ［な］Adjective(*) + な + 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 ば, 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, ば 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.

As である (the formal version of だ) 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.

Caution

When this expression is used with する verbs, the noun that する is linked to in the ば part of the sentence does not need to be repeated in the ほど part.

  • 漢字(かんじ)の勉強(べんきょう)をすればするほど色(いろ)んな本(ほん)が読(よ)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)をすればするほど、部屋(へや)が綺麗(きれい)になっていく。
    The more you clean, the cleaner your room will get.

Fun Fact

Sometimes, the ば 'hypothetical' part of the sentence will be omitted altogether, leaving ほど to perform a similar function by itself.

  • 身体(からだ)を鍛(きた)えるほど、身体(からだ)が強(つよ)くなる。
    The more you workout, the stronger your body gets.

Examples

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    この豆(まめ)を食(た)べれば食(た)べるほど痩(や)せるらしい。

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

    早(はや)ければ早(はや)い程(ほど)いい。

    The sooner the better.

    綺麗(きれい)ならば綺麗(きれい)なほど見(み)続(つづ)けたくなる。

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

    勝(か)てば勝(か)つほど、またやりたくなる。

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

    勉強(べんきょう)すればする程(ほど)、日本語(にほんご)が上手(うま)くなる。

    The more you study, the better you will be at Japanese.

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ば〜ほど – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (20 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    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

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

  • steffuld

    steffuld

    勉強すればする程ほど、日本語が上手くなる。
    If [you] study, [your] Japanese gets good to the extent that [you] study.

    God, this makes so much more sense now! At first I tried to translate it as

    If you study, your Japanese gets so good that you study. (What?)

    Meaning that first your Japanese gets good and, as a consequence of that, you study.

    I think at first I got the wrong idea that the part preceding ほど is always the result/consequence of something. As in:

    死ぬほど練習した。
    I practiced myself to death.
    (I 練習する and, as a consequence of that, I 死ぬ)

    涙が出るほど嬉しい。
    I am so happy that I could cry.
    (I am 嬉しい and, as a consequence of that, I 涙が出る)

    But here it’s the other way around: first you study to some extent and, as a consequence of that, your Japanese gets better.

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