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Szaboistvan.123 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Comparison, the ... the ...

0Hello, everybody!02br
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00I'd like to ask a question relating the structure "the ... the ...". (For example: "The younger you are, the easier it is to learn.")02br
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00What is not clear for me is that sometimes I read sentences with this structure where the word "is" is left out. For instance: "The smaller the gift, the easier it is to send."02br
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00My question would be: when can we leave out the word "is", and in those cases, do we have to leave it out or it is up to us if we do so or not. (The example above: why don't we say "The smaller the gift is, the easier it is to send.") I tried to search for information about this topic but I haven't found anything, anywhere I looked it up.02br
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00Thank you for your answers in advance:02br
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00Steve0-
  

Top answer

0Welcome, Steve-02br 02br 00Firstly, your example can be said either way. 02br 02br 00 Don't worry about being wrong, there's nothing 'right' about the phrases. 0-

  • 0Welcome, Steve-02br 02br 00Firstly, your example can be said either way.
  • 02br 02br 00 Don't worry about being wrong, there's nothing 'right' about the phrases.
  • 0-
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1 Answers
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0Welcome, Steve-02br
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00Firstly, your example can be said either way. You don't have to leave it out.02br
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00This idiomatic structure doesn't even need verbs or subjects, as long as they are clearly implied: The more, the merrier = The more people, the merrier the gathering = the more people you have, the merrier your gathering will be.02br

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