English — Parallel and double comparatives
English links two comparatives to show that one change drives another: The more you practise, the better you get. A single comparative can also be doubled to show gradual change: bigger and bigger.
How it works
The parallel comparative has two halves, each starting with the: the + comparative + clause, the + comparative + clause. The first half sets a condition, the second states the result: The harder you work, the more you earn. With adjectives and adverbs the comparative is one word (the older, the wiser); with nouns and verbs use more/less (the more time, the better; the more you sleep, the fresher you feel). To show a change happening on its own, repeat one comparative with and: The queue got longer and longer; She spoke more and more quietly.
Examples
| Example | Pattern / meaning |
|---|---|
| The more you practise, the better you get. | Adverb + adjective: more practice leads to more skill. |
| The harder you work, the more you earn. | Adverb + more + verb: effort raises income. |
| The older I get, the less I worry. | Adjective + less: rising age, falling worry. |
| The more the merrier. | Fixed idiom with omitted verbs: more people, more fun. |
| The queue got longer and longer. | Repeated comparative: a steadily growing change. |
| She spoke more and more quietly. | Long adjectives/adverbs repeat with more and more. |
Good to know
Both halves need the — dropping it ("More you practise, better you get") is a common error. In the repeated pattern, short adjectives double the whole word (bigger and bigger, hotter and hotter), while longer ones keep the base and repeat more (more and more expensive, not "expensiver and expensiver"). Note the irregular pair worse and worse and better and better.