Breakdown of De roem mag dan wel kunstmatig zijn, maar haar invloed is enorm.
zijn
to be
maar
but
mogen
to be allowed to / may
haar
her
Questions & Answers about De roem mag dan wel kunstmatig zijn, maar haar invloed is enorm.
How does mag dan wel function in this sentence?
It acts as an epistemic modal concession. The verb mogen (here as mag) combined with the particles dan wel translates to 'may well' or 'might be'. It concedes a point ('The fame may be artificial...') to set up a contrast in the next clause.
Are the particles dan wel required to make this concession?
Does haar refer back to de roem in this sentence?
No, it refers to a female person from the broader context. Roem is a masculine noun in Dutch, so if the sentence meant 'its influence' (the fame's influence), it would use zijn. The use of haar tells us we are talking about a specific woman's influence.
Why is the infinitive verb zijn placed right before the comma?
The first half of the sentence is a main clause where mag is the conjugated verb. Standard Dutch word order pushes the infinitive (zijn) to the very end of that clause, stopping right before the coordinating conjunction maar.