Breakdown of Чем раньше мы начинаем, тем быстрее заканчиваем.
мы
we
быстро
fast, quickly
рано
early
начинать
to begin
заканчивать
to finish
чем ..., тем ...
the ... the ... (proportional)
Questions & Answers about Чем раньше мы начинаем, тем быстрее заканчиваем.
How do чем and тем mean "the... the..." in this sentence?
In Russian, proportional comparisons are built using the formula чем + comparative, тем + comparative. While чем usually means "than" and тем is a form of "that", together in this structure they create the English "the... the..." pattern.
Are раньше and быстрее adjectives or adverbs here?
They are comparative adverbs. раньше comes from рано (early) and быстрее comes from быстро (fast or quickly). You need comparative words to make the чем... тем... structure work.
Why is there no мы (we) before заканчиваем?
Russian often drops the subject pronoun in the second half of a sentence if it is exactly the same as the first half. Since мы начинаем establishes "we" as the subject, repeating мы before заканчиваем is not necessary and the sentence sounds more natural without it.
Why are both verbs in the imperfective aspect (начинаем, заканчиваем)?
These verbs are imperfective because the sentence expresses a general, repeated rule or habit. It essentially means "Whenever we start earlier, we finish sooner." If you were talking about one specific event in the future (like "The earlier we start tomorrow..."), you would use perfective future verbs instead.
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