Breakdown of Što je ruta teža, to se češće odmaramo.
biti
to be
često
often
odmarati se
to rest
teži
more difficult
Questions & Answers about Što je ruta teža, to se češće odmaramo.
What is the što ..., to ... pattern doing in this sentence?
It is a very common Serbian pattern used to express a linked comparison: the more/less X, the more/less Y.
So:
Što je ruta teža, to se češće odmaramo.
means structurally:
The harder the route is, the more often we rest.
A few similar examples:
- Što više učim, to više znam. = The more I study, the more I know.
- Što je hladnije, to manje izlazimo. = The colder it is, the less we go out.
So što ... to ... is best learned as a whole pattern.
Does što mean what here?
No. Here što is not the question word what.
In this sentence, što is part of the fixed comparative pattern što ..., to .... In English, it corresponds to the first the in the harder..., the more often...
So although što can mean different things in other contexts, here it functions more like the more / the less / as in a comparison structure.
Why is it teža and not teži or teško?
Because teža has to agree with ruta.
- ruta is a feminine singular noun
- the adjective must match it in gender and number