as you get older/the older you get

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optimistic pessimist

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1) As you get older, it becomes more difficult to learn a foreign language.

2) The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to learn a foreign language.

I think #2 is the same in meaning as #1, but what is the effect of this "the more...the more..." phrasing?
 
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Tarheel

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I agree that sentences one and two mean the same thing. (Neither of those sentences contain the phrasing you are talking about.)
 
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optimistic pessimist

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I would like to ask about the rhetorical effects of repeating "the + comparative adjectives (or adverbs)" as in #2 and sentences like below.

3) The higher you climb, the colder it gets.
Compared to "As you climb higher, it gets colder" how does #3 sound?
Does it sound more dramatic or formal or bookish or preferred in writing, etc...?
 
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tedmc

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I would like to ask about the rhetorical effects of repeating "the + comparative adjectives (or adverbs)" as in #2 and sentences like below.

3) The higher you climb, the colder it gets.
Compared to "As you climb higher, it gets colder" how does #3 sound?
Does it sound more dramatic or formal or bookish or preferred in writing, etc...?

The form "the higher...the colder..." highlights the comparative verbs and sounds more catchy. No, it is neither formal nor bookish.
 
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Rover_KE

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Re: as you get older the older you get

old winy, welcome to the forum.

Please read this extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly in your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice provide the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion.

I deleted your post because it lacked any punctuation marks.
 

Tarheel

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I would like to ask about the rhetorical effects of repeating "the + comparative adjectives (or adverbs)" as in #2 and sentences like below.

3) The higher you climb, the colder it gets.
Compared to "As you climb higher, it gets colder" how does #3 sound?
Does it sound more dramatic or formal or bookish or preferred in writing, etc...?

Two things. One, I think you explained things better in that post (#3) than you did in the first one. Two, I have an example sentence for you using the phrase "the more ... the more ...." (See below.)

The more you study the more you learn.

(Pretty soon you'll be teaching me. :) )
 
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