Breakdown of De textuur van de oester laat zich met niets vergelijken.
met
with
zich
oneself
niets
nothing
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
laten
to let (laten we ... = let's ...)
vergelijken
to compare
de textuur
the texture
de oester
the oyster
Questions & Answers about De textuur van de oester laat zich met niets vergelijken.
How does laat zich end up meaning 'cannot be' in the English translation?
The structure zich laten combined with a bare infinitive (here, vergelijken) expresses passive potentiality, meaning whether something can or cannot be done to the subject. Literally, it means the oyster's texture 'lets itself be compared'. Because it is paired with the negative word niets, the overall meaning becomes 'cannot be compared'.
Why is it met niets rather than using niet for the negation?
English often negates the verb and uses 'anything' (cannot be compared to anything). Dutch is more direct and negates the pronoun, using niets (nothing). Literally, you are saying it can be compared 'with nothing'.
Is met always the preposition used with vergelijken?
Yes, while English speakers might compare something 'to' or 'with' something else, the Dutch verb vergelijken requires the fixed preposition met (with).
Why is the infinitive vergelijken pushed all the way to the end?
This is standard Dutch word order. In a main clause, the conjugated verb (laat) takes the second position, and any other verbs (like the infinitive vergelijken) are sent to the very end of the clause, wrapping around the other information like zich met niets.
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