Learn Spanish (Latin America): Mientras menos hablamos del problema, francamente, menos me molesta. - The less we talk about the problem, frankly, the less it bothers me.

Mientras menos hablamos del problema, francamente, menos me molesta.

The less we talk about the problem, frankly, the less it bothers me.

Breakdown of Mientras menos hablamos del problema, francamente, menos me molesta.

to me / me (direct object)

Questions & Answers about Mientras menos hablamos del problema, francamente, menos me molesta.

Why is francamente placed in the middle of the sentence and surrounded by commas?

Here, francamente (frankly) acts as a speaker attitude marker that modifies the entire sentence, rather than just describing how a specific action is performed. When used to show your personal stance on the whole statement, it is set off by commas. You could also place it at the very beginning or end of the sentence without changing the meaning.

Is mientras menos... menos... the standard way to say 'the less... the less...'?

Yes! In English, we use 'the' for proportional comparisons ('the less x, the less y'). In Spanish, you never use el or la for this structure. Instead, you use mientras or cuanto. Mientras menos... menos... is extremely common in Latin America, though you will also hear cuanto menos... menos....

Why is hablamos in the indicative mood? Doesn't mientras usually trigger the subjunctive?

Mientras only triggers the subjunctive when it refers to a pending or future action (meaning 'as long as' or 'while' something happens in the future). Here, the speaker is stating a general, habitual fact: as a rule, when we talk less about it, it bothers me less. Because it is a general reality rather than a future hypothetical, Spanish requires the indicative mood (hablamos).

What is the subject of molesta in the second clause?