Four relationships at a glance
1 · 1 · Paired degrees
Begin both halves with the degree word. A comma joins the clauses; each has its own subject and verb.
| plus…plus | more…more |
| plus…moins | more…less |
| moins…plus | less…more |
| moins…moins | less…less |
Plus j’ajoute d’exemples, plus le texte s’allonge.The more examples I add, the longer the text gets.
Plus la phrase est longue, moins elle est facile à suivre.The longer the sentence, the harder it is to follow.
2 · 2 · Gradual development
Use à mesure que + indicative for a process developing alongside another. The gradual sequence is the focus.
À mesure que nous classons les exemples, le plan devient plus clair.As we sort the examples, the outline becomes clearer.
Le texte devenait plus court à mesure que nous supprimions les répétitions.The text became shorter as we removed repetitions.
3 · 3 · A reinforcing reason
Use d’autant plus with the judgement, then give the reason after que. You can also put d’autant plus que after the first statement.
La relecture est d’autant plus utile que plusieurs dates se contredisent.Rereading is all the more useful because several dates conflict.
Il faut relire ce passage, d’autant plus qu’il contient plusieurs dates.We should reread this passage, especially as it contains several dates.
4 · 4 · A balanced contrast
Here autant…autant sets two judgements against each other. It compares sections rather than describing a change over time.
Autant l’introduction est claire, autant la conclusion reste vague.The introduction is clear, whereas the conclusion remains vague.