Því meira sem ég les, því betur skil ég textann.

The more I read, the better I understand the text.

Breakdown of Því meira sem ég les, því betur skil ég textann.

• ég: I
• lesa: to read
• skilja: to understand
• betur: better

Questions & Answers about Því meira sem ég les, því betur skil ég textann.

What does the pattern Því ..., því ... mean in this sentence?

It is a very common Icelandic pattern meaning the more ..., the ... or more generally the X-er ..., the Y-er.

So:

• Því meira sem ég les = The more I read
• því betur skil ég textann = the better I understand the text

You can think of því ... því ... as a fixed correlative structure. English uses the ... the ..., while Icelandic uses því ... því ....

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Why is sem used in Því meira sem ég les?

Here sem introduces the clause after the comparative expression.

So in:

• Því meira sem ég les

the part meira sem ég les is literally something like more that I read, but in natural English it becomes the more I read.

In this structure, sem is very normal after the comparative word:

• Því meira sem...
• Því minna sem...
• Því betur sem... sometimes possible depending on context

So you should learn því + comparative + sem + clause as a useful pattern.

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Why is it meira and not meiri?