Breakdown of Llevo un año sin usar tintes, porque mientras más reflejos me hago, menos volumen tengo.
tener
to have
un
a, an (masculine)
el año
year
usar
to use / to wear
porque
because
hacer
to do / to make
me
to me / me (direct object)
menos
to (telling time) / minus / less
más
more
mientras
while / the more/less (in proportional comparisons) / as long as
sin
without
llevar
to have been (doing) for a time
el tinte
dye
el reflejo
highlight
el volumen
volume
Questions & Answers about Llevo un año sin usar tintes, porque mientras más reflejos me hago, menos volumen tengo.
The English translation says 'the more highlights...', but the Spanish uses mientras más. Could I use cuanto más here instead?
Yes, you can. In Latin America, mientras más is very commonly used for proportional comparatives, but cuanto más is equally correct and means the exact same thing. Both perfectly set up the 'the more... the less...' structure.
Why does the sentence use the indicative me hago instead of the subjunctive me haga after mientras más?
We use the indicative here because the speaker is stating a general, proven fact based on their own ongoing experience. If they were talking about a hypothetical future situation (like 'the more highlights I get in the future...'), they would need to use the subjunctive (mientras más reflejos me haga).
Why is me hago used to mean 'I get' highlights?
In Spanish, getting your hair done, getting a piercing, or having similar personal modifications done is often expressed with the reflexive verb hacerse (literally 'to do/make to oneself'). Even though a hair stylist is doing the actual work, you say me hago reflejos to mean 'I get highlights.'
How does the llevo un año sin usar structure work here?
The formula llevar + [time period] + sin + [infinitive verb] is the most natural way to express how long you have gone without doing something. Notice that while English uses the present perfect ('I have gone a year'), Spanish uses the present tense of llevar because the state of not using dyes is still ongoing right now.
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