Breakdown of Því meira sem þú fjárfestir, því stærri verður sparnaðurinn.
þú
you
verða
to become; will be
sem
who / which / that
stærri
bigger
meira
more
sparnaðurinn
the savings
því
the (in 'the more... the more')
fjárfesta
to invest
Questions & Answers about Því meira sem þú fjárfestir, því stærri verður sparnaðurinn.
Why is there a sem after því meira, but no sem in the second half of the sentence?
The structure því [comparative] sem... því [comparative]... translates to "the [more]... the [more]...". The first part acts as a relative clause setting up the condition ("The more that you invest"), which requires the relative word sem. The second half is the main clause showing the result, so it stands alone without sem.
Why does the second part say verður sparnaðurinn (verb-subject) instead of sparnaðurinn verður?
This is because of the strict V2 (verb-second) rule in Icelandic main clauses. The comparative phrase því stærri ("the bigger") takes up the first position in the clause. The verb verður must immediately follow in the second slot, which pushes the subject sparnaðurinn to the third position.
Why do we use the comparative word meira in the first half, but stærri in the second?
Meira is the neuter comparative form of mikill (much/a lot). Here it acts as an adverb modifying the verb (investing "more"). Stærri (bigger), however, is an adjective describing the masculine noun sparnaðurinn. All adjectives must agree with their nouns, though in the comparative degree, adjectives ending in -i conveniently look the same for all genders in the nominative case.
The English translation says "savings" (plural). Why is sparnaðurinn singular?
In English, "savings" is typically a plural noun when referring to money you have put away. In Icelandic, sparnaður is treated as a singular uncountable noun, much like the English words "wealth" or "money". The -inn at the end is the singular masculine definite article, meaning "the savings".
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