je … desto

One structure covers every "the more … the more" sentence in German. You already know comparatives — this just puts two of them in a fixed frame.

je + comparative … (verb last), desto + comparative … (verb second). desto and umso are interchangeable.

• Je mehr ich übe, desto besser spreche ich Deutsch.

  The more I practise, the better I speak German.

  übe at the end of the je-clause, spreche second in the desto-clause

• Je früher wir fahren, desto weniger Verkehr gibt es.

  The earlier we leave, the less traffic there is.

• Je länger ich warte, umso ungeduldiger werde ich.

  The longer I wait, the more impatient I get.

  umso is simply another word for desto

The comparative always sits directly after je and desto. Nothing comes between them.

When the comparative describes a noun, the noun comes along with it: je mehr Verkehr, desto weniger Zeit*.

• Je mehr Menschen kommen, desto weniger Platz haben wir.

  The more people come, the less room we have.

• Je später du buchst, desto teurer wird der Flug.

  The later you book, the more expensive the flight gets.