The sentences: "JE ...DESTO/UMSO"

Conjunctions: JE ...DESTO/UMSO

The construction "je ... desto/umso" is used in dependent clauses. It employs multi-part, separable conjunctions, with "je" introducing the dependent clause (NS), while "desto" or "umso" function as correlatives in the main clause (HS).

The dependent clause in a sentence with the construction "je ... desto/umso" usually precedes the main clause. However, within the main clause (HS), the order of sentence elements can vary, as demonstrated in the following examples:

              a) Je größer ein Auto ist, desto mehr Benzin braucht es.
              b) Je mehr ich arbeite, desto weniger Freizeit habe ich.
              c) Je weniger Vertrauen du zu mir hast, desto trauriger werde ich.

In examples (a) and (b), it is evident that the second position in the main clause does not contain the personal verb form, but another sentence element. This happens because the comparative adjective or adverb (mehr, weniger), when used as an attribute of a noun, must stand directly next to it, thus forming an inseparable phrase. We observe the same syntactical rule in example (c), where, instead of a subject in the third position, we find the comparative phrase.

Sentences with the "je ... desto/umso" construction express a proportional relationship — the action in the main clause occurs proportionally to the action in the dependent clause, where the dependent clause carries the primary information.

In other words, the proportionality in this type of sentence indicates simultaneous and interconnected changes in actions in both clauses.

When the "je ... desto/umso" construction is used to link dependent clauses, the dependent clause follows the part of the main clause that contains "desto" or "umso":

              Er merkte, dass er umso besser spielen konnte, je öfter er übte.

In cases where the dependent clause comes after the main clause, other forms can be used instead of "desto" or "umso" in the main clause:

             Er wurde immer lustiger, je mehr er trank.
             Das Auto fuhr schneller und schneller, je steiler die Straße abfiel.

In English, the construction "the ... the ..." is used to connect two actions that occur in a proportional relationship, where the first action is linked to the second based on the same change or intensification.

              a) The bigger a car is, the more gasoline it needs.

              b) The more I work, the less free time I have.

              c) The less trust you have in me, the sadder I become.