Questions & Answers about Hoe vlotter het boek wegleest, des te beter ik het vind.
How can a book perform the action of reading (wegleest)?
This is the facilitive middle voice. Dutch frequently uses active verbs for inanimate objects to describe how an action is experienced. Here, weglezen means 'to read smoothly.' By saying het boek leest weg, you emphasize the ease of the reading process rather than the person doing the reading.
What does the prefix weg- add to the verb lezen here?
The prefix weg- (away) is often added to verbs in this middle voice structure to emphasize effortless progression. While het boek leest vlot just means 'the book reads quickly,' adding weg- gives the sense that the pages are just flying by without any resistance.
Why use hoe... des te... instead of hoe... hoe... for 'the... the...'?
Both hoe... hoe... and hoe... des te... translate to 'the [more]... the [more]...'. They are completely interchangeable, though hoe... des te... can sound slightly more formal or emphatic. You could easily say Hoe vlotter het boek wegleest, hoe beter ik het vind with the exact same meaning.
Why is the verb at the end of the second clause (ik het vind) instead of using inverted word order (vind ik het)?