arvien + Comparative
More and More
Put arvien or aizvien before a comparative to say more and more: Laiks kļūst arvien siltāks (The weather is getting warmer and warmer).
How It Works
1. With adjectives. The comparative agrees with its noun, as usual:
- Laiks kļūst arvien siltāks. (The weather is getting warmer and warmer.)
- Dienas kļūst arvien īsākas. (The days are getting shorter and shorter.)
2. With adverbs. Viņš runā latviski arvien labāk. (He speaks Latvian better and better.) Mēs tiekamies arvien retāk. (We meet less and less often.)
3. More and more of something. Arvien vairāk and arvien mazāk take a noun in the genitive: Arvien vairāk cilvēku mācās latviešu valodu (More and more people are learning Latvian).
4. Arvien or aizvien. The two words mean the same here: Cenas kļūst aizvien augstākas (Prices are getting higher and higher).
5. Without a comparative. On its own, arvien or aizvien means always, and vēl arvien or vēl aizvien means still: Vēl arvien līst (It is still raining). See jau and vēl.
Tip: the comparative already contains the idea of more, so do not add vairāk to it: arvien siltāks, not arvien vairāk siltāks.
Examples (6)
- Laiks kļūst arvien siltāks.
The weather is getting warmer and warmer.
Word by Word: Weather becomes ever warmer.
- Arvien vairāk cilvēku mācās latviešu valodu.
More and more people are learning Latvian.
Word by Word: Ever more of-people learn Latvian language.
After vairāk the noun is in the genitive plural: cilvēku.
- Dienas kļūst arvien īsākas.
The days are getting shorter and shorter.
- Viņš runā latviski arvien labāk.
He speaks Latvian better and better.
- Cenas kļūst aizvien augstākas.
Prices are getting higher and higher.
Aizvien means the same as arvien here.
- Mēs tiekamies arvien retāk.
We meet less and less often.
Word by Word: We meet ever more-rarely.
Common Mistakes
Using the plain adjective instead of the comparative.
Laiks kļūst arvien silts.Laiks kļūst arvien siltāks.The sentence is meant to say that the weather is getting warmer and warmer. That meaning comes from the comparative. Without it, arvien just means always.
Putting the noun after arvien vairāk in the nominative.
Arvien vairāk cilvēki mācās latviešu valodu.Arvien vairāk cilvēku mācās latviešu valodu.Vairāk is a word of quantity, so the noun after it is in the genitive: cilvēku.
Adding vairāk to a comparative.
Laiks kļūst arvien vairāk siltāks.Laiks kļūst arvien siltāks.Siltāks already means warmer, so vairāk is doubled up. Use arvien with the comparative alone.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Arvien means more and more.
Related Patterns
- jo ... joThe More ... the More
Jo ..., jo (the more ..., the more) links two changes that grow together.
Level 4 - Amounts With the Genitive
After arvien vairāk or arvien mazāk, a noun takes the genitive.
Level 2 - Superlative vis- and -ākaisThe Most: Vis- and -ākais
The superlative is the next step after the comparative.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice arvien + Comparative in Bubblegum
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