Intensifying comparison
In short
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sve + comparative adjective | more and more (a process) | Dani su sve duži. |
| sve + comparative adverb | more and more (a process) | Kiša pada sve jače. |
| sve više / sve manje (+ genitive) | more and more / less and less | Ima sve manje snega. |
| što + superlative or comparative | as ... as possible (a limit) | Dođi što pre. / što najbolje možeš |
sve = change over time; što = the maximum. Never više i više.
B1 · Lesson 10 · Pojačavanje poređenja: sve + komparativ, što + superlativ
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
English has two handy ways to push a comparison further. Warmer and warmer describes something that keeps changing over time. As soon as possible describes a limit: the most you can manage. Serbian does both with a single small word placed in front of a comparative form you already know: sve for the change, što for the limit.
sve + comparative: getting more and more
Put sve directly in front of a comparative and the meaning becomes a process: the quality keeps growing. Dani su duži is 'The days are longer'; Dani su sve duži is 'The days are getting longer and longer'. Nothing else changes: the comparative agrees with its noun exactly as you learned, and sve itself never changes form.
| What is compared | Serbian | English |
|---|---|---|
| an adjective (agrees with the noun) | Vetar je sve jači. / Noći su sve duže. / Leta su sve toplija. | The wind is getting stronger and stronger. / The nights are getting longer. / Summers are getting warmer. |
| an adverb (never changes) | Kiša pada sve jače. / Napolju je sve hladnije. | The rain is falling harder and harder. / It is getting colder and colder outside. |
| an irregular comparative | Prognoza je sve gora. / Vreme je sve bolje. | The forecast is getting worse and worse. / The weather is getting better and better. |
Notice that Serbian needs no verb meaning 'get' or 'become': je sve hladnije already says 'is getting colder'. The word sve carries the idea of change by itself.
sve više and sve manje: more and more, less and less
više (more) and manje (less) are comparatives too, so they take sve in the same way. Like mnogo and malo, they are followed by the genitive: genitive plural for things you count, genitive singular for things you cannot.
| Pattern | Serbian | English |
|---|---|---|
| sve više + genitive plural | Ima sve više sunčanih dana. | There are more and more sunny days. |
| sve manje + genitive singular | Ima sve manje snega. | There is less and less snow. |
| on their own, with a verb | Sve više volim zimu. | I like winter more and more. |
Never translate more and more word for word as više i više. Serbian says sve više, and less and less is sve manje.
što + superlative or comparative: as ... as possible
Put što in front of the form and you name a limit: the highest degree you can reach. The naj- form (the superlative) makes this especially strong, but the plain comparative after što means the same thing and is at least as common, especially in set expressions like što pre (as soon as possible).
| Serbian | English |
|---|---|
| Dođi što pre! | Come as soon as possible! |
| Zatvori prozore što brže. | Close the windows as fast as you can. |
| Obuci se što toplije. | Dress as warmly as possible. |
| Uradi to što najbolje možeš. | Do it as well as you possibly can. |
| Pokušaću da stignem što najbrže. | I will try to get there as fast as possible. |
With an adjective, the form after što agrees with its noun as usual: Treba nam što veća kuća (We need as big a house as possible).
Keep the two words apart by asking one question: is something CHANGING, or am I naming a LIMIT? Change over time takes sve (Vetar je sve jači - the wind keeps getting stronger). A limit, usually in a request or a plan, takes što (Zatvori prozor što brže - as fast as you can). Vetar je što jači means nothing in Serbian.
Check what you read
3 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Vetar je ___ jači.
The nights are getting longer and longer: Noći su ___.
Summers are getting warmer and warmer: Leta su ___.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Dođi što pre!
Come as soon as possible! (to one friend)
Dani su sve duži.
The days are getting longer and longer.
Kiša pada sve jače.
The rain is falling harder and harder.
Ima sve manje snega.
There is less and less snow.
Prognoza je sve gora.
The forecast is getting worse and worse.
Uradi to što najbolje možeš.
Do it as well as you possibly can. (to one friend)
Ima sve više sunčanih dana.
There are more and more sunny days.
Pokušaću da stignem što najbrže.
I will try to get there as fast as possible.
Prosečna temperatura sve brže raste, kažu naučnici.
The average temperature is rising faster and faster, scientists say.
Napolju je sve hladnije, obuci se toplo.
It is getting colder and colder outside, dress warmly. (to one friend)
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 44
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
Come as soon as possible! (to one friend)