Breakdown of Mientras más tiempo te dejas la mascarilla, más nutres el pelo.
el tiempo
time
te
to you / you (direct object)
el pelo
the hair
más
more
la
the (feminine)
dejar
to stop / to leave (something behind)
mientras
while / the more/less (in proportional comparisons) / as long as
nutrir
to nourish
la mascarilla
mask
Questions & Answers about Mientras más tiempo te dejas la mascarilla, más nutres el pelo.
Why does 'the longer' translate to mientras más tiempo instead of using el más?
English uses 'the [comparative]... the [comparative]' (the longer... the more...). Spanish doesn't use definite articles for this. Instead, it uses phrases like mientras más or cuanto más. Here, 'the longer' is expressed as mientras más tiempo (literally 'while more time').
Could I use cuanto más instead of mientras más in this sentence?
Yes, cuanto más tiempo works perfectly here and means the exact same thing. In Latin America, mientras más is extremely common in spoken Spanish, while cuanto más can sometimes sound slightly more formal, but both are completely interchangeable in this grammar structure.
Why is there a te in te dejas? Can I just say dejas?
Why is it el pelo instead of tu pelo if the English translation is 'your hair'?
In Spanish, definite articles (el, la, los, las) are preferred over possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) when referring to body parts, hair, or clothing. Because the sentence already establishes who is performing the action, it is obvious that it is your own hair being nourished.
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