Chem ranshe, tem luchshe: comparing actions
A quality of a thing answers what kind?: bystryy, lyogkiy. A quality of a deed answers how?: bystro, legko. Both compare the same way: bystree, legche, luchshe. For example: “Чем раньше ляжешь, тем легче встанешь” — The earlier you go to bed, the easier you get up. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A quality of a thing answers what kind?: bystryy, lyogkiy. A quality of a deed answers how?: bystro, legko. Both compare the same way: bystree, legche, luchshe.
Two comparisons hold on to each other through chem ... tem: chem ranshe vstanesh, tem bolshe uspeesh. After chem and tem stands the comparative — the same one as in bystree.
Growth is passed by vsyo: vsyo bystree, vsyo dorozhe, vsyo menshe. And the top looks like vsego: luchshe vsego vyspatsya, khuzhe vsego opazdyvat.
Mind the doubling: bolee luchshe is not said. The short forms — bystree, tishe, dalshe — are already comparisons on their own.
Table
| The quality | What kind? | How? | The comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| speed | bystryy | bystro | bystree |
| weight | lyogkiy | legko | legche |
| quality | khoroshiy | khorosho | luchshe |
| quiet | tikhiy | tikho | tishe |
| distance | dalniy | daleko | dalshe |
By example
- Чем раньше ляжешь, тем легче встанешьChem ranshe lyazhesh, tem legche vstaneshThe earlier you go to bed, the easier you get up
- Дорожка всё уже, а идти всё дальшеDorozhka vsyo uzhe, a idti vsyo dalsheThe path grows ever narrower, and the walk ever longer
- Лучше всего начать с малогоLuchshe vsego nachat s malogoIt is best to start small
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Chem ranshe tem luchshe: how to build it?
Two comparisons hold on to each other through chem ... tem: chem ranshe vstanesh, tem bolshe uspeesh. After chem and tem stands the comparative — the same one as in bystree.
How to compare actions?
A quality of a thing answers what kind?: bystryy, lyogkiy. A quality of a deed answers how?: bystro, legko. Both compare the same way: bystree, legche, luchshe.
Bystryy vs bystro: which one when?
Two comparisons hold on to each other through chem ... tem: chem ranshe vstanesh, tem bolshe uspeesh. After chem and tem stands the comparative — the same one as in bystree.
How to say faster and faster?
Two comparisons hold on to each other through chem ... tem: chem ranshe vstanesh, tem bolshe uspeesh. After chem and tem stands the comparative — the same one as in bystree.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Чем раньше ляжешь, тем легче встанешь” (Chem ranshe lyazhesh, tem legche vstanesh) — The earlier you go to bed, the easier you get up. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.