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Mientras menos humedad tiene la tierra, menos abundante es el trigo.

Mientras menos humedad tiene la tierra, menos abundante es el trigo.
The less moisture the soil has, the less abundant the wheat is.
From Lesson 213:Proportional comparisons (mientras más... más...)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Mientras menos humedad tiene la tierra, menos abundante es el trigo.

Why does the Spanish sentence use mientras menos instead of something like el menos for 'the less'?
In English, we say 'the less [X], the less [Y]' to show a proportional relationship. In Spanish, you cannot translate 'the' literally here. Instead, you use a set phrase like mientras menos (literally 'while less') or cuanto menos to connect the two ideas.
Could I say cuanto menos instead of mientras menos in this sentence?
Yes! Both mientras menos and cuanto menos work perfectly here and mean exactly the same thing. Mientras menos is especially common in everyday Latin American Spanish.
Why are the verbs placed before the subjects (tiene la tierra and es el trigo)?
When a clause starts with an adverbial phrase like mientras menos or menos abundante, Spanish usually flips the verb and the subject. It sounds much more natural to say tiene la tierra rather than la tierra tiene in this type of structure.
Since humedad (moisture) is a feminine word, why doesn't menos change to match its gender?
Unlike most adjectives that change to match gender and number, the word menos (less/fewer) is invariable. It always stays exactly the same whether the noun following it is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

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