колкото..., толкова
The More ..., The More
To say "the more ..., the more ..." in Bulgarian, start with колкото and answer with толкова: Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става. (The more you study, the easier it gets.)
How It Works
1. The shape. The pattern has two parts, and this lesson uses the common колкото-first order:
- Колкото + comparative ..., (the first degree)
- толкова + comparative ... (the degree that follows from it)
Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става. (The more you study, the easier it gets.)
2. What goes in each half. Use повече or по-малко with verbs and nouns, and the по- form with adjectives and adverbs. See comparatives with по- and повече and по-малко.
- Колкото повече работиш, толкова повече печелиш. (The more you work, the more you earn.)
- Колкото по-малко спиш, толкова по-уморен си. (The less you sleep, the more tired you are.)
3. Short versions without verbs. In set phrases both halves can drop their verbs: Колкото по-скоро, толкова по-добре. (The sooner, the better.) Колкото повече, толкова по-добре. (The more, the better.)
4. Equal degrees without a comparative. With no comparative, the pattern says that two qualities are equally strong: Колкото е умен, толкова е и мързелив. (He is as lazy as he is clever.) Here и (also) usually comes before the second quality.
5. Do not mix it up with толкова ... колкото. Толкова ... колкото often compares degrees directly: Не е толкова студено, колкото вчера. (It is not as cold as yesterday.) For the dependency illustrated in this lesson, колкото comes first; a reversed proportional construction is also possible when its clause meanings fit.
Punctuation: put a comma before толкова, because it starts a new clause.
Examples (6)
- Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става.
The more you study, the easier it gets.
Повече in the first half, the comparative по-лесно in the second.
- Колкото по-рано тръгнем, толкова по-добре.
The earlier we set off, the better.
- Колкото повече го опознавам, толкова повече ми харесва.
The better I get to know him, the more I like him.
- Колкото по-малко спиш, толкова по-уморен си.
The less you sleep, the more tired you are.
- Колкото по-скоро, толкова по-добре.
The sooner, the better.
A fixed short version with no verbs.
- Колкото е умен, толкова е и мързелив.
He is as lazy as he is clever.
Without comparatives, the pattern says the two qualities are equally strong.
Common Mistakes
Using колко instead of колкото.
Колко повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става.Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става.Колко is a question word (how much?). The linking word in this pattern is колкото.
Reversing the two clauses while intending that more study makes the task easier.
Толкова повече учиш, колкото по-лесно става.Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става.For the intended meaning “the more you study, the easier it gets,” the study clause sets the degree and goes with колкото. Reversing the clauses can express a different dependency; reverse order is not inherently ungrammatical.
Leaving out по- in the second half.
Колкото повече учиш, толкова лесно става.Колкото повече учиш, толкова по-лесно става.The second half needs a comparative to show that the degree changes. Толкова лесно without по- means "so easy".
How It Connects
Learn This First
The more, the more follows as ... as.
Related Patterns
- по- + Adjective or AdverbComparatives with По-
Both halves of the pattern are usually built with по- comparatives.
Level 2 - каквото / колкотоFree Relatives with Каквото and Колкото
Колкото also introduces free relative clauses such as Яж колкото искаш.
Level 3 - колкото и даNo Matter How Much
Колкото и да means "however much" and expresses a concession instead of a proportion.
Level 5 - отколкотоThan with a Clause
Another comparison word built on колкото, used for "than" with a clause.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice колкото..., толкова in Bubblegum
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