Breakdown of Чем больше мы изучаем атом, тем больше сомневаемся.
мы
we
изучать
to study
чем
than / the (in comparisons)
больше
more (quantity or size) / no longer, anymore
сомневаться
to doubt / to hesitate
тем
the (in comparisons)
атом
atom
Questions & Answers about Чем больше мы изучаем атом, тем больше сомневаемся.
How does the Чем..., тем... structure work in this sentence?
The phrase чем больше ..., тем больше ... is the Russian equivalent of 'the more..., the more...'. Grammatically, чем (the instrumental case of что) introduces the first action, and тем (the instrumental of то) introduces the proportional result. You can use this pattern with any comparative adverbs or adjectives.
Why is the subject мы dropped in the second half of the sentence before сомневаемся?
Russian frequently drops the subject in the second clause of a compound sentence if it remains identical to the first. The first-person plural ending of сомневаемся makes it completely unambiguous that мы is still the subject.
Why doesn't the direct object атом change its ending here after the verb изучаем?
It actually is in the accusative case here! Because атом is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. If the object were an animate masculine noun, like a student (студент), it would take the animate accusative ending: изучаем студента.
The verb сомневаемся is reflexive. If we wanted to expand the sentence to say 'we doubt it', how would we connect the object?
The verb сомневаться (to doubt) takes the preposition в followed by the prepositional case. To say 'we doubt it' or 'we doubt this', you would add в этом to the end of the sentence. Because it has the reflexive -ся suffix, it can never take a direct object in the accusative case.
If I wanted to apply this lesson's topic and say 'it is extremely unlikely that we doubt,' how would I add the particle вряд ли to the second clause?
You would place the particle directly before the verb to express extreme doubt about the action itself: тем вряд ли мы сомневаемся. Remember that вряд ли and едва ли are used with normal indicative verbs, so you do not need to change the verb tense or add the conditional particle бы.
Learn Чем больше мы изучаем атом, тем больше сомневаемся and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free