Breakdown of De presentator mag dan wel ijdel zijn, maar hij is oprecht.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
maar
but
mogen
to be allowed to / may
Questions & Answers about De presentator mag dan wel ijdel zijn, maar hij is oprecht.
Wait, doesn't mag usually mean 'allowed to'? What does it mean here?
What is the function of dan wel in this sentence? Can I leave them out?
The words dan wel are modal particles that reinforce the concession. While mag ... zijn alone could technically mean 'may be', adding dan wel gives it the specific flavor of 'may well be' or 'even if he is'. If you drop them, the phrase loses its natural, idiomatic flow for conceding a point.
Why is zijn placed at the end of the first clause?
Because mag is a modal verb, it pushes the main infinitive verb, zijn, to the end of its clause. The first clause is a main clause where mag is the conjugated verb in the second position, so the infinitive zijn goes to the very end before the comma.
Is ijdel related to the English word 'idle'?
They look similar and share historical roots, but they are false friends! In Dutch, ijdel means 'vain' or 'conceited' (caring too much about your appearance). It does not mean lazy or doing nothing, which would be lui.