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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Standard
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.
- 漢字の勉強をすればするほど色んな本が読めるようになる。The more you study kanji, the more you will be able to read various books.
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掃除をすればするほど、部屋が綺麗になっていく。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.
- 身体を鍛えるほど、身体が強くなる。The more you workout, the stronger your body gets.
Synonyms
どんどん
Progressively, Rapidly increasing, More and more
Not studied yet
一方だ
More and more, Continue to, Keep on, -er and -er
Not studied yet
ますます
Increasingly, More and more, Decreasingly, Less and less, Keep -ing
Not studied yet
ほど
The more, About, To the extent that, So much… that
Not studied yet
ば
If… then, (Conditional)
Not studied yet
Examples
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この豆を食べれば食べるほど痩せるらしい。
I hear that the more of these beans you eat the thinner you will become.
早ければ早い程いい。
The sooner the better.
綺麗ならば綺麗なほど見続けたくなる。
The more beautiful it is, the more I want to continue looking at it.
勝てば勝つほど、またやりたくなる。
The more you win, the more you want to play again.
勉強すればする程、日本語が上手くなる。
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
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
I see, thank you so much!! This makes more sense to me now.
steffuld
勉強すればする程、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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