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Why is the first part of this sentence correct?

The more thoughtful your ambitions, and the more clearly you can explain them, the higher your chances of admission.

Shouldn't it be "The more thoughtful your ambitions [ARE]" ?

Maybe both sentences are correct?

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That's right; they are both correct.

Shouldn't it be The more thoughtful your ambitions [ARE] ?

You've almost answered your own question here: the word "are" is implied, and elided. The listener or reader can infer it based on context, as you and I have.

cf.: The bigger the lie [is], the more people believe it

Or even: The more [people are present], the merrier [those people are]

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  • Your answer is very clear :). I also wonder whether there is a grammatical rule that tells us when can we elide words in a sentence? If there is a rule, what's it called?
    – aLonelySheep
    Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 12:08
  • The way we omit words in a sentence just seems pretty random to me. Can I elide words in formal letters? Does it make my writing style casual?
    – aLonelySheep
    Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 12:21

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