Breakdown of Mientras más semillas sembramos, más abundante es la cosecha.
ser
to be
más
more
la cosecha
harvest
mientras
while / the more/less (in proportional comparisons) / as long as
la semilla
seed
sembrar
to sow
abundante
abundant
Questions & Answers about Mientras más semillas sembramos, más abundante es la cosecha.
Why do we use mientras más here instead of just más?
In English, we say 'The more... the more...' to show that two things change together. In Latin American Spanish, the most common way to express this relationship is with mientras más. You cannot just use más on its own for the first part, because that would simply mean 'more', rather than 'the more'.
Since the lesson also teaches cuanto más, could I use that instead of mientras más here?
Yes, but you have to be careful! When using cuanto right before a noun like semillas, it acts as an adjective and must match that noun in gender and number. Since semillas is feminine and plural, it would become cuantas más semillas sembramos. Because mientras never changes its form, many learners find mientras más much easier to use!
Are the words semillas and sembramos related?
Yes, they belong to the same word family! Una semilla is a seed, and sembrar is the verb meaning to plant or to sow. Spotting these connections is a great trick for remembering new vocabulary at this level.
Why does the sentence end with es la cosecha instead of la cosecha es?
In Spanish, it is very natural to flip the subject and the verb, especially when the subject falls at the very end of a sentence or clause. After setting up the second half of the comparison with más abundante, saying la cosecha es sounds a bit like a direct English translation. Putting the verb first (es la cosecha) flows much better.
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