Breakdown of Je gelassener ich bin, desto weniger rege ich mich auf.
ich
I
sein
to be
sich aufregen
to get upset
wenig
little, few
Questions & Answers about Je gelassener ich bin, desto weniger rege ich mich auf.
Why is the verb rege right after weniger, but bin is at the very end of its clause?
The je part of the sentence creates a subordinate clause, which pushes its conjugated verb (bin) to the very end. The desto part acts like a main clause. The phrase desto weniger counts as the entire first position in that clause, so the verb (rege) must come in position two, immediately after it.
Is weniger a comparative adjective here?
Yes! The word weniger is the comparative form of wenig (little or few). So desto weniger means the less. It fills the comparative slot just like gelassener does in the first half of the sentence.
Could I use umso instead of desto in this sentence?
Absolutely. The structures je ... desto and je ... umso mean exactly the same thing. You could easily say Je gelassener ich bin, umso weniger rege ich mich auf and it would be perfectly correct.
Why does the second part of the sentence end with auf?