Breakdown of La creencia aumenta la brecha, mientras que el consumismo crece.
que
that / than
aumentar
to increase
crecer
to grow
mientras
while / the more/less (in proportional comparisons) / as long as
la creencia
the belief
la brecha
the gap
el consumismo
the consumerism
Questions & Answers about La creencia aumenta la brecha, mientras que el consumismo crece.
Why do we use mientras que here instead of just mientras?
Mientras que is used to show contrast, meaning "whereas" or "while (on the other hand)". If we just used mientras, it would focus purely on time, meaning "during the time that". Here, the speaker is contrasting the increasing gap with growing consumerism.
Why is crece in the indicative mood rather than the subjunctive?
When mientras que is used to contrast two facts or ongoing realities, it takes the indicative mood. You would use the subjunctive after mientras or mientras que if you were talking about a future, uncompleted action (like "as long as consumerism grows"). Since consumerism is already growing as a stated fact, the indicative crece is correct.
Both aumenta and crece are used to express growth or increase in this sentence. Could they be swapped?
They have slightly different grammatical roles here. Aumentar (to increase) is used transitively in this sentence, meaning it takes a direct object: the belief is increasing something (la brecha). Crecer (to grow) is almost always intransitive, meaning the subject itself is growing, just like el consumismo does here. You could say el consumismo aumenta, but you cannot say the belief crece la brecha.
Is brecha the standard word for metaphorical "gaps" like social or economic divides?
Yes! While brecha literally means a physical crack, breach, or opening, it is extremely common in B2-level topics like news and politics to refer to abstract divides. You will frequently hear it in phrases like la brecha salarial (the wage gap), la brecha generacional (the generation gap), or la brecha digital (the digital divide).
Learn La creencia aumenta la brecha, mientras que el consumismo crece and more in Spanish
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