Breakdown of Hoe lager de rente is, des te goedkoper is de hypotheek.
zijn
to be
goedkoop
cheap
hoe
how
laag
low
de rente
the interest
des te
the (proportion)
de hypotheek
the mortgage
Questions & Answers about Hoe lager de rente is, des te goedkoper is de hypotheek.
Why does the first part end with "is", but the second part puts "is" before "de hypotheek"?
This is the most important word-order rule for hoe ... des te sentences! The hoe half acts as a subordinate clause, pushing the verb (is) to the end. The des te half acts as a main clause. Because it starts with des te goedkoper (which takes up the first position in the sentence), it triggers inversion, meaning the verb (is) comes before the subject (de hypotheek).
Can I use "hoe ... hoe ..." instead of "hoe ... des te ..."?
Yes, you can say Hoe lager de rente is, hoe goedkoper de hypotheek is. However, notice the word order change! If you use hoe for the second part as well, it behaves like another subordinate clause, pushing the verb (is) to the end again. Using des te is very common, especially in slightly more formal or written Dutch.
Do I have to include the verbs, or can I just say "Hoe lager de rente, des te goedkoper de hypotheek"?
You can absolutely drop the verbs here! Just like in English (The lower the interest, the cheaper the mortgage), Dutch allows you to leave out the verb zijn (to be) in these comparative phrases. Saying Hoe lager de rente, des te goedkoper de hypotheek is perfectly correct and sounds very natural.
Why is it "lager" with one "a" when the base adjective is "laag"?
This is a great reminder of the Dutch spelling rules for open and closed syllables. The base word is laag (a closed syllable ending in a consonant, so it needs a double aa to keep the long vowel sound). When you add the comparative ending -er, it splits into syllables as la-ger. The first syllable is now "open" (ending in a vowel), so a single a is enough to make the long "a" sound.
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