Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 5/22

程(ほど)The more, About, To the extent that, So much… that

Structure

Verb + ほど
［い］Adjective + ほど
［な］Adjective + な + ほど
Noun + ほど

Details

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    Standard

About ほど

ほど, coming from the kanji 程(ほど) 'an extent', is used for describing rough estimates about the 'amount' of something. However, unlike expressions such as くらい (which focuses more on the speaker's uncertainty about the exact number), ほど puts emphasis on the upper (or lower) limit of something as having been 'reached'. Due to this, it is usually translated as 'so much that (A)', or 'to the extent that (A)'.

ほど can be added on to the end of the attributive form of any word. The attributive form being the form that is able to be partnered directly with nouns.

Caution

Although くらい may be used to describe something that is 'around' a certain extent (regardless of whether it is above or below that extent), 程(ほど) refers specifically to the 'limit' of something, and therefore cannot be used to describe something that exceeds the stated limit. Due to this, it is regularly used to express some sort of exaggerated limit of (A), when the real extent is far below that.

Related

Examples

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    遅(おく)れてごめんなさい。あと１０分(じゅっぷん)程(ほど)で着(つ)きます。

    I'm sorry that I'm late. I will be there in about 10 minutes. (degree・bounds・limit)

    ピンが落(お)ちた音(おと)が聞(き)こえる程(ほど)、静(しず)かだった。

    It was quiet to the extent that you could hear a pin drop. (degree・bounds・limit)

    もう二度(にど)と食(た)べたくないと思(おも)う程(ほど)、ピザを食(た)べた。

    I ate pizza to the extent that I don't think that I ever want to eat it again. (degree・bounds・limit)

    他(ほか)の人(ひと)がわがままだと言(い)う程(ほど)甘(あま)やかしている。

    I am spoiling them to the extent that people would say they're selfish. (degree・bounds・limit)

    今回(こんかい)は一週間(いっしゅうかん)程(ほど)旅行(りょこう)するつもりだ。

    This time, I plan to go on a trip for about one week. (degree・bounds・limit)

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ほど – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    the more・about
    to the extent that
    so much… that

    Structure
    Verb + ほど
    Noun + ほど
    いAdj + ほど
    なAdj + な・ ほど

    View on Bunpro

  • benuidede

    benuidede

    I had trouble understanding the example sentence
    調子がいいほど、慎重に行動すべきだ。
    because the ほど is actually the ~ば…~ほど grammar with the ~ば dropped.

    I think it would be better to mention the fact that the ~ば can be dropped out on the ~ば…~ほど page, move the sentence above to that page, and remove the “the more” meaning on the ほど page.

  • benuidede

    benuidede

    Well now you’ve changed it to 調子がいい時ほど 、慎重に行動すべきだ。and I’m even more confused. Am I the only one who thinks that this sentence doesn’t fit with all the other ones and that " When things are at the extent of progressing well " doesn’t make a lot of sense (I’m not a native English speaker) ?
    To me
    調子がよければいいほど 、慎重に行動すべきだ。→ The better things are going, the more cautious you should be.
    with the よければ dropped would make more sense.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey and welcome on the community forums!

    Yes, you are right this means the same as (the more, the more construction)
    調子が良ければいいほど慎重に注意深くなるべきだ。

    Another possible interpretation of this example would be similar to
    like ほど は ない construction, but with a positive predicate,、or こそ - emphasizing something, AほどB meaning that B applies to A more than anything. When predicate is positive predicate is usually something like 欲しい、べき, etc.

    Examples:

    It would be something like this:
    試験の前夜ほど、ちゃんと寝ないといけない。(＝試験の前夜ほど、ちゃんと寝ないといけない夜はない）
    You must sleep before the night of an exam. You never must sleep as much as at the night before the exam. Yo...

  • benuidede

    benuidede

    Thank you! that makes more sense now.

  • TypicalGatsby

    TypicalGatsby

    Concerning:
    今回こんかいは一週間いっしゅうかん ほど 旅行りょこうするつもりだ。

    I’m having a hard time finding info from the sources provided about why I should be using ほど instead of くらい/ぐらい. To me, it seems like ほど is more used to express more figurative and hyperbolic statements. This just seems like a realistic statement of “going on a trip for about one week” that would be better filled by くらい/ぐらい.

  • Ambo100

    Ambo100

    I found this video helpful for the various uses of ほど, covering all the other grammar points too.

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