Breakdown of Mijn eerste indruk is dat zij erg bescheiden lijkt.
zijn
to be
zij
she
erg
very / really
mijn
my
eerste
first (1st)
dat
that (conjunction)
lijken
to seem
de indruk
the impression
bescheiden
modest
Questions & Answers about Mijn eerste indruk is dat zij erg bescheiden lijkt.
Why is lijkt used here instead of schijnt or blijkt?
Lijken is the right choice because it describes a personal, visual impression or feeling (just like "appears" or "looks like" in English). Schijnt would mean you heard a rumor that she is modest, and blijkt would mean there is hard, factual evidence proving she is modest. Since the sentence explicitly states "My first impression", lijkt fits perfectly.
Why does the verb lijkt go at the very end of the sentence?
The word dat (that) introduces a subordinate clause. As a B1 learner, you might remember that subordinate clauses in Dutch push all their verbs to the very end. So, instead of the normal word order zij lijkt erg bescheiden, the structure changes to dat zij erg bescheiden lijkt.
Could I use heel instead of erg in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! When used as adverbs to mean "very", heel and erg are practically interchangeable in Dutch. Saying heel bescheiden means exactly the same thing as erg bescheiden in this context.
Why does eerste get an -e ending after mijn?
Eerste (first) acts as an adjective describing the noun indruk (which is a de word: de indruk). When an adjective comes after a possessive pronoun like mijn, jouw, or zijn, it follows the same rule as if it were following de or het and gets the standard -e ending.
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