Word
Hoe sneller de economie groeit, hoe minder schaars het materiaal wordt.
Meaning
The faster the economy grows, the less scarce the material becomes.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hoe sneller de economie groeit, hoe minder schaars het materiaal wordt.
snel
fast
hoe
how
worden
to become
groeien
to grow
Questions & Answers about Hoe sneller de economie groeit, hoe minder schaars het materiaal wordt.
Why are the verbs groeit and wordt placed at the very end of their halves of the sentence?
In a hoe ... hoe (the ... the) sentence, both clauses use subordinate word order. This means that after the hoe plus comparative phrase, the subject comes next, and the conjugated verbs (groeit and wordt) are pushed to the very end of their respective parts.
Can I separate minder and schaars, for example by saying 'hoe minder het materiaal schaars wordt'?
No, you have to keep minder schaars (less scarce) together right after the second hoe. Just like in English, the comparative word (minder) attaches directly to the adjective it modifies (schaars) before the rest of the clause continues.
Why is wordt used here to mean 'becomes'? I thought it was a helping verb.
The verb worden literally means 'to become' or 'to get'. While you often see it as a helping verb to form the passive voice (where English uses 'is' or 'are'), when used as an independent main verb like in this sentence, it simply means 'becomes'.
Does the word right after hoe always have to be a comparative?