vēl jo vairāk

All the More

Level 6

Vēl jo vairāk means all the more or even more so. It adds a case where your point is even stronger: Tas ir svarīgi, vēl jo vairāk tagad. (That is important, all the more so now.)

How It Works

1. The stronger case. Say something general, then name the case where it is even more true:

  • Sports ir vajadzīgs visiem, vēl jo vairāk bērniem. (Exercise is needed by everyone, and even more so by children.)
  • Man nepatīk braukt naktī, vēl jo vairāk ziemā. (I do not like driving at night, and even less so in winter.)

The added word takes the same form as the word it matches: visiem and bērniem are both dative.

2. With a reason or a condition. The phrase often leads into a clause: vēl jo vairāk tāpēc, ka ... (all the more because ...) or vēl jo vairāk, ja ... (all the more so if ...):

  • Viņam jāatpūšas, vēl jo vairāk tāpēc, ka viņš ir slims. (He needs to rest, all the more because he is ill.)
  • Šis ceļš ir bīstams, vēl jo vairāk, ja līst. (This road is dangerous, all the more so if it is raining.)

3. Commas. The added part is set off with a comma before vēl jo vairāk. A ja or ka clause after it gets its own comma too.

4. Shorter versions. You will also meet jo vairāk and vēl vairāk with the same meaning. The jo here is the jo of jo ..., jo (the more), not jo meaning because. In everyday speech, it īpaši (especially) often does the same job.

Positive or negative? Vēl jo vairāk makes a statement stronger, whether it is positive or negative: Man nepatīk braukt naktī, vēl jo vairāk ziemā. To add something even less likely after a negative (let alone), Latvian uses kur nu vēl.

Examples (5)

  1. Tas ir svarīgi, vēl jo vairāk tagad.

    That is important, all the more so now.

    Word by Word: That is important, still the-more more now.

  2. Sports ir vajadzīgs visiem, vēl jo vairāk bērniem.

    Exercise is needed by everyone, and even more so by children.

    Bērniem is dative, like visiem, because both depend on vajadzīgs.

  3. Man nepatīk braukt naktī, vēl jo vairāk ziemā.

    I do not like driving at night, and even less so in winter.

  4. Viņam jāatpūšas, vēl jo vairāk tāpēc, ka viņš ir slims.

    He needs to rest, all the more because he is ill.

  5. Šis ceļš ir bīstams, vēl jo vairāk, ja līst.

    This road is dangerous, all the more so if it is raining.

Common Mistakes

  • Changing the order of the three words.

    Tas ir svarīgi, jo vēl vairāk tagad.
    Tas ir svarīgi, vēl jo vairāk tagad.

    Vēl jo vairāk is a fixed phrase. With jo first after a comma, a reader expects jo meaning because, and the sentence falls apart.

  • Leaving out the comma before the added part.

    Tas ir svarīgi vēl jo vairāk tagad.
    Tas ir svarīgi, vēl jo vairāk tagad.

    The part that starts with vēl jo vairāk is an added, more precise case, so it is set off with a comma.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

vēl jo vairākLevel 6All the More

Learn This First

Vēl jo vairāk means all the more.

Words in This Pattern

vairāk