Proportional comparisons (ju…, desto…)

Proportional Comparisons with "Ju" and "Desto"

To express a proportional relationship like "the higher the demand, the more expensive the good," Swedish uses the pair ju and desto. Both words are immediately followed by an adjective or adverb in its comparative form (like högre or dyrare).

This structure has a very strict word order because it combines a subordinate clause and a main clause:

• The "Ju" clause: This is a subordinate clause. The word order is Ju
  • comparative + Subject
    • Verb.
• The "Desto" clause: This is a main clause. Because desto
  • comparative takes up the first position in the sentence, the verb must come next (the V2 rule). The word order is Desto
    • comparative + Verb
      • Subject.

Let's look at this in action with some basic economic terms like efterfrågan (demand) and varan (the good).

The Alternative: "Dess"

In the second half of the comparison, you can use the word dess instead of desto. They mean exactly the same thing and are completely interchangeable. The word order rules remain exactly the same.

Here is an example using dess, alongside new vocabulary like konsumenten (the consumer) and överskottet (the surplus).

Discussing Market Dynamics

Let's practice this structure with more vocabulary related to market dynamics, such as utbudet (the supply), bristen (the shortage), konkurrensen (the competition), and the adjective lönsam (profitable).

Notice how the verb consistently jumps in front of the subject in the second half of every sentence.