Breakdown of Het meisje blijkt afhankelijk te zijn van haar vader.
zijn
to be
het meisje
the girl
de vader
the father
haar
her
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
te
to (infinitive marker)
blijken
to turn out / to appear
afhankelijk zijn van
to depend on
Questions & Answers about Het meisje blijkt afhankelijk te zijn van haar vader.
Why is van used here when the English translation says "dependent on"?
In Dutch, the adjective afhankelijk (dependent) is always paired with the fixed preposition van. Because prepositions rarely translate one-to-one between English and Dutch, it is best to memorize these words as a set: afhankelijk van means "dependent on".
Why does the sentence use te zijn (to be)?
The verb blijken (to turn out / to become evident) requires a te + infinitive construction when it is linked to another verb. Just as you say "turns out to be" in English, Dutch uses blijkt ... te zijn.
Why does van haar vader come after the verbs te zijn at the end of the sentence?
In Dutch, all verbs normally get pushed to the end of the sentence, but prepositional phrases (like van haar vader) are an exception. They are allowed to "escape" and be placed after the verbs. You could also say Het meisje blijkt van haar vader afhankelijk te zijn, but putting the prepositional phrase at the very end is often preferred because it flows more naturally.
I always mix up blijkt and lijkt. Which one means what?
Lijken means "to seem" or "to look like" (based on an impression). Blijken means "to turn out" or "to become evident" (based on proof or facts). Using blijkt in this sentence means that it has been proven or revealed that she is dependent on her father, rather than it just seeming that way.
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