Growing up is a process of constant change. To talk about stages of development, from being a toddler to reaching adulthood, you will often need to describe how one thing changes in proportion to another.
| The toddler is growing up very fast. | De peuter groeit heel snel op. |
Proportional Changes with Naarmate
To express "as" or "in proportion as," Dutch uses the subordinating conjunction naarmate. It links two gradual changes together, such as getting older and becoming more mature.
Because naarmate is a subordinating conjunction, it forces the conjugated verb to the end of its clause.
Furthermore, if you start your sentence with the naarmate clause, that entire clause acts as the first grammatical position. This triggers inversion in the main clause that follows, meaning the main clause must immediately start with its verb.
| As the child grows up, it becomes mature. | Naarmate het kind opgroeit, wordt het volwassen. |
| As the boy became older, he wanted to appear mature. | Naarmate de jongen ouder werd, wilde hij volwassen lijken. |
Developing Identity and Wisdom
This structure is highly useful for discussing adolescence and the development of one's identity. Notice how the verb-final rule in the naarmate clause and the inversion in the main clause apply consistently.
| As the adolescent gets older, his identity changes. | Naarmate de puber ouder wordt, verandert zijn identiteit. |
As children mature into adults, they also hopefully become wiser (wijs) and more sensible (verstandig).
| As one grows older, one often becomes wiser. | Naarmate men ouder wordt, wordt men vaak wijzer. |
| As you learn more, you become more sensible. | Naarmate je meer leert, word je verstandiger. |
Mental Growth
The exact same proportional grammar applies when discussing physical and mental (geestelijk) maturation, such as the development of the brain (het brein).
| As the brain grows, mental development goes faster. | Naarmate het brein groeit, gaat de geestelijke ontwikkeling sneller. |
