Breakdown of Hoe minder vierkante meters je koopt, des te lager is de hypotheek.
zijn
to be
kopen
to buy
hoe
how
je
you (unstressed form of jij)
Questions & Answers about Hoe minder vierkante meters je koopt, des te lager is de hypotheek.
Why is the verb koopt at the end of the first part, but is comes right after lager in the second part?
The hoe part is a subordinate (dependent) clause, which pushes its verb koopt to the end. The des te part is the main clause. Because it starts with the phrase des te lager instead of the subject, it triggers inversion: the verb is must come right before the subject de hypotheek.
Could I say hoe minder ... hoe lager instead of using des te?
Yes, hoe ... hoe means exactly the same thing. Using hoe ... des te is just a slightly more formal or emphatic way to express "the ... the ...". Both forms are very common in spoken and written Dutch.
Why does vierkant (square) get an -e ending here?
Because it is an adjective describing a plural noun (meters). In Dutch, adjectives placed before plural nouns almost always get an -e added to them, making it vierkante meters.
Since meters is plural, why doesn't minder also get an -e ending?