Breakdown of Jij ziet er elegant uit, maar jouw persoonlijkheid doet er meer toe.
jij
you
maar
but
jouw
your
meer
more
Questions & Answers about Jij ziet er elegant uit, maar jouw persoonlijkheid doet er meer toe.
How does the verb eruitzien split up in the first half of the sentence?
Eruitzien (to look like / appear) is a separable verb with an intrinsic er. In a main clause, the conjugated verb (ziet) takes the second position. The er comes right after it, and the separable part (uit) gets pushed to the very end of the clause. The adjective describing the appearance (elegant) sits neatly between er and uit.
Why are er and toe separated by meer in the second half?
The verb here is ertoe doen (to matter). Just like eruitzien, it splits in a main clause: the verb (doet) takes the second position, and the separable part (toe) goes to the end. The er stays close to the verb. When you add a word like meer (more) to say it matters more, it sits directly between the er and the preposition toe.
Why doesn't the verb go to the end of the sentence after maar?
Only subordinating conjunctions (like omdat or dat) push the verb to the end of the clause. Maar (but) is a coordinating conjunction, which means it simply links two regular main clauses together. Because of this, the second clause keeps the standard main-clause word order: Subject (jouw persoonlijkheid) followed by the Verb (doet).