[Grammar] Principal clause- The more, the merrier, The more he gets, the more he wants

[Barman]

1) The more, the merrier.

2) The more he gets, the more he wants.

I have expanded the sentences above in the following way.

A) By how much more men there are, by so much merrier they are.

B) By how much more he gets, by so much more he wants.

In the sentences 1) and 2), the second clauses are the principal clauses, I suppose.

Am I right?

 

[PaulMatthews]

[1] The more he gets, the more he wants.

[2] The more, the merrier.


Yes, the second (underlined) clause in both examples is the head clause. The fronted clause is subordinate.

In [2] both clauses are reduced to just the comparative phrase. In full, it would be The more people attend, the merrier the party will be.

 

[GoesStation]

2) The more he gets, the more he
A) By how much more men there are, by so much merrier they are.

B) By how much more he gets, by so much more he wants.

In the sentences 1) and 2), the second clauses are the principal clauses, I suppose.

Am I right?

Sorry, no. Both sentences are ungrammatical.

 

[Barman]

Sorry, no. Both sentences are ungrammatical.

Why? Could you explain please?

 

[Barman]

They are simply not natural English constructions. We can't use by... by ... in this way.

Actually, I mentioned the sentences 1) and 2) respectively in #1, not A) and B). I wanted to expand the sentences 1) and 2) as A) and B).

 

[GoesStation]

Actually, I mentioned the sentences 1) and 2) respectively in #1, not A) and B). I wanted to expand the sentences 1) and 2) as A) and B).

The proposed expanded sentences just don't work. They're meaningless.

 

[PaulMatthews]

Actually, I mentioned the sentences 1) and 2) respectively in #1, not A) and B). I wanted to expand the sentences 1) and 2) as A) and B).

[1] The more he gets, the more he wants.

[2] The more, the merrier.

Your paraphrases with "by" won't work, but you could paraphrase them with a construction in which the subordinate clause functions as complement to "as":

[3] As he gets more, so he wants more.

[4] As more people attend, so the merrier the party becomes.

 

[GoesStation]

[3] As he gets more, so he wants more.

[4] As more people attend, so the merrier the party becomes.

The first sentence is okay for a literary audience. I think most people would have trouble understanding it and I'd advise learners to avoid it. The second is grammatical but looks archaic to me.

 

[PaulMatthews]

The first sentence is okay for a literary audience. I think most people would have trouble understanding it and I'd advise learners to avoid it. The second is grammatical but looks archaic to me.

They were only intended to be paraphrases.

 

[raymondaliasapollyon]

1) The more, the merrier.

2) The more he gets, the more he wants.

I have expanded the sentences above in the following way.

A) By how much more men there are, by so much merrier they are.

B) By how much more he gets, by so much more he wants.

In the sentences 1) and 2), the second clauses are the principal clauses, I suppose.

Am I right?

Were you reading a usage book by H. W. Fowler, or any other work written in the late 19th or early 20th century?

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