The More I Practice, the More I Remember

 

Hello. Today we will start with a question for you: When you practice English more, do you remember more?

If your answer is yes, one way you can say this is:

The more I practice, the more I remember.

But suppose your answer is no. Maybe you have been practicing more but seem to be remembering less. You could say this:

The more I practice, the less I remember.

Both examples show a cause and an effect. They show that an increase or decrease of something causes an increase or decrease of something else.

In English, there are a few ways to express cause and effect relationships. One way is with a kind of comparison¹ called a “correlative comparative².” It is also called a “the/the comparative” and that is what we will call it today.

These comparatives³ have many structures. And, on our program today, we will explore a few. Keep in mind that you don't need to memorize any of them.

Short and simple

To begin: The shortest, simplest structure is made of just four words. Suppose, for instance⁴, you are having a barbecue today. Your best friend is coming to the event. But he asks if he can also bring a friend of his. You say:

Sure! The more, the merrier.

“The more, the merrier” is a popular expression. It means an activity is more enjoyable with more people. It can also mean a greater amount of something is better.

If you were to say this expression as a complete sentence, it might sound like this:

The more (there are), the merrier (it is).

But the subjects and verbs were left out of both parts of the sentence because their meaning is already understood.

Next, suppose someone at the barbecue requests a glass of lemonade. You ask her how much ice she would like in her drink. And, she answers by saying:

A lot, please! The colder, the better.

She is saying that she enjoys the taste of very cold lemonade.

The structure the + comparative adjective⁵ + the better is a very common one in the/the comparatives. For instance:

How do you like your coffee?

The stronger, the better.

Which car should we rent?

The cheaper, the better.

Adding nouns⁷

The next structure we’ll explore adds nouns. Watch what happens when we do this for the example about the cold drink:

The colder the lemonade, the better the taste.

The speaker is expressing the same meaning as “the colder, the better,” but with a little more detail.

Notice again that the verbs are missing⁸. That is almost always the case when the understood verb is “be.” (The full statement would be, “The colder the lemonade is, the better the taste is” but we do not say it this way.)

In addition, often the second noun⁶ is not necessary because it is understood. So the phrase usually ends with the words “the better,” like this:

The colder the lemonade, the better.

Another example of this structure is a fairly common expression. Have a listen:

The bigger the risk, the greater the reward.

It means when people take a bigger risk, their reward will be greater.

Comparing actions

Now, let’s look at a few longer structures that are made of two clauses¹⁰.

The first one deals with actions. Suppose you are talking to someone but he or she is ignoring much of what you’re saying. Listen to an example:

The more I talk, the less you listen.

Notice that both sides of the sentence are clauses: They each have their own subject and verb. In the first, the subject and verb are “I talk.” In the second, the subject and verb are “you listen.”

Here’s another one: Imagine that a group of people traveled overseas together. They had a good time. But before the trip, their visas had arrived late. This made them more anxious as each day passed. You could express it this way:

The longer they waited, the more anxious they became.

Notice this sentence is also in the past tense. Past and present tenses are common in these comparatives.

Comparing things

With the/the comparative clauses, you can also talk about two things, so the structure changes a little. Let’s take an example you can probably relate to:

The more time you spend with VOA Learning¹¹ English, the more money you can save on English classes.

In this example, we are showing a relationship between time and money.

Here's another example:

The more games the U.S. women’s soccer team won, the more attention they got on social media.

This example shows a relationship between game wins and social media attention.

Mixed structures

We have talked today about the/the structures that mirror each other. But not all such comparatives follow a mirroring structure. In fact, many do not. Here’s one example:

The more music he performs, the better.

Here, the first clause⁹ “The more music he performs” uses the structure for comparing things, the second half uses the simplified “the better” from earlier in the program.

Well, that’s our time for this week. Again, avoid trying to memorize the structures. Instead, listen for the/the comparatives in everyday speech. And, try using them to show a cause and an effect. The more you use them, the easier they will become.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

memorize – v. to learn something so well that you are able to remember it

barbecue – n. an outdoor meal or party at which food is cooked on a barbecue

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but does not form a complete sentence

clause – n. a part of a sentence with its own subject and verb

anxious – adj. afraid or nervous especially about what may happen

mirror – v. to be very similar to something

1 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

2 comparative   

adj.比较的；相比较而言的；相对的

参考例句：

• After many hardships,he now lives in comparative ease.经过许多困难之后，他现在的生活相对舒适。
• Let's make a comparative study of the two languages.让我们将这两种语言作一下比较研究。

3 comparatives   

n.（形容词或副词的）比较级形式( comparative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In this unit, are many adjectives. Please write their comparatives. 在这一单元中，有许多形容词，请依据前面所讲，写出他们的比较级。 来自互联网
• Comparatives, superlatives, hedges, numerals, quantifiers and pronouns are also used in advertisements. 比较级、最高级、模糊限制语、数词、量词和代词也出现在广告中。 来自互联网

4 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

5 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

7 nouns   

n.名词；名词( noun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

9 clause   

n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句

参考例句：

• The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
• What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款？

10 clauses   

从句( clause的名词复数 )； （法律文件等的）条款

参考例句：

• Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。
• Please underline the noun clauses in the passage. 请用线画出短文中的名词性从句。

11 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。