Can 「XければXほどY」 clause pattern be shortened to 「XほどY」?

Question

There is a clause pattern 「XければXほどY」. For example, 「近【ちか】ければ近【ちか】いほど便【べん】利【り】」 which means something like "the nearer it is, the more convenient it will be". Can I shorten the clause to 「近【ちか】いほど便【べん】利【り】」? Will it have the same meaning? But I have a feeling when I use 「XほどY」 when X and Y are opposite to each other, it will give the meaning of "X yet Y" in English. For example, 「近【ちか】いほど届【とど】かない」 would give the meaning of "close yet unreachable", in a poetic sense. Am I right?

Answer 1

You would be able to make a coherent sentence with 近いほど便利 - "to the extent that it's close, it is convenient" or "the closer it is the more convenient it will be." ～ば～ほど shows situation that changes over time which impacts something else proportionally.

Since ほど shows an extent, 近いほど届かない means "close enough to be unable to reach." I don't suspect that you can use this pattern in this way.