〜ば〜ほど？

[basho1975]

Need some help, I forgot what the construction of 〜ば〜ほど means. Does it mean to the extent that...?

Thanks!

EDIT: Figured it out! Thanks.

[Mukade]

I've always found this to be a tricky grammar point. I think maybe it's because the formation of it is so different from what its English equivalent is. Also, since I've never heard anyone using this in everyday conversation, it doesn't stick in my mind like other things.

Anyway, it's most similar to the English "The more that X, the more Y."
Just keep in mind that in the 〜ば〜ほど construction, the X would fill in both those 〜 slots.

So, for example, if I wanted to say "The more the merrier," it would be:
人が多ければ多いほど、楽しい。

Maybe a literal translation would go something like:
"To the extent that many people can be many people, it is fun."

Does that make sense?

[basho1975]

Yeah it does. Thanks a lot. That is basically what I thought, but I've gotten a bit rusty with not using for a while...plus, like you said, when you see the construction pop up in the middle of a sentence it can be a little confusing because it's so different from English.

Cheers!