Learn Dutch: Mijn vader probeert iets liefs te zeggen. - My father is trying to say something sweet.

This is a special rule in Dutch. When you put an adjective right after words like iets (something), niets (nothing), wat (something/some), or veel (much/a lot), you must add an -s to the adjective. Here, the base adjective lief (sweet) follows iets, so it becomes iets liefs (something sweet).

Wait, doesn't the letter f usually change to a v when we add an ending to lief?

That is usually true! When you add an -e or -en ending, the f turns into a v (like in lieve). However, when adding the special -s ending after words like iets, you just stick the -s directly onto the base word. The spelling doesn't change, giving us liefs.

Why are the words te zeggen pushed all the way to the end of the sentence?

This sentence uses two verbs: probeert (is trying) and zeggen (to say). In Dutch, when a main verb is followed by another verb with te (meaning "to"), that te + infinitive combination is pushed to the very end of the clause.

The English translation says "is trying". Why doesn't the Dutch sentence use a form of "zijn" (to be) for this?