84. In clauses expressing a comparison between two objects, acts or
states, the adverbial use of English "the ... the ..." (meaning "by how
much ... by that much ...") is rendered by the adverbs "ju" and "des",
respectively:


Ju pli bona li estas, des pli felicxa li estos,
the better he is, the happier he will be.
Ju pli ofte mi rigardas, des pli mi volas rigardi,
the oftener I look, the more I wish to look.
Ju pli bele la luno brilas, des pli oni sxatas la nokton,
the more beautifully the moon shines, the more one likes the night.
Ju malpli pluvas, des pli la floroj velkas,
the less it rains, the more the flowers wither.
Ju malpli multe vi helpas, des malpli multe mi lauxdos vin,
the less you help, the less I shall praise you.
Cxar vi helpis, mi des pli multe lauxdos vin,
because you helped, I shall praise you the (that much) more.

[Footnote: Cf. Shakespeare, As You Like It, V, II, 49, "By so much the
more shall I tomorrow be at the height of heart-heaviness, by how much I
shall think my brother happy in having what he wishes for."]


THE PREPOSITION "INTER".

85. In English, the preposition "between" is used in reference to two
persons or things, and "among" in reference to three or more. As the
difference in meaning is not essential, Esperanto has but the one
preposition inter to express both "between" and "among":