Breakdown of Zijn accent is zo sterk dat hij amper verstaanbaar is.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
zo
so (to such a degree)
sterk
strong
Questions & Answers about Zijn accent is zo sterk dat hij amper verstaanbaar is.
The current lesson is about constructions like 'moeilijk te verstaan'. Could we use that structure here instead of 'verstaanbaar'?
Yes! You could say ...dat hij amper te verstaan is. Both mean essentially the same thing. The suffix -baar acts just like the English suffix '-able'. For many actions, adding -baar to a verb stem to create an adjective is a common alternative to the te + infinitive structure you are practicing.
Why does this sentence use 'verstaanbaar' instead of 'begrijpelijk' (understandable)?
Verstaan refers to physically hearing and making out the spoken sounds, which is the exact problem when someone has a strong accent. Begrijpen means to intellectually understand a concept or meaning. If a speaker mumbles, they are hard to verstaan; if their ideas make no sense, they are hard to begrijpen.
Could I use 'nauwelijks' or 'bijna niet' instead of 'amper'?
Absolutely, all three are interchangeable here. Amper and nauwelijks both mean 'hardly' or 'barely', while bijna niet literally means 'almost not'. Any of these would sound perfectly natural to a native speaker in this sentence.
Just as a refresher, why is the verb 'is' pushed all the way to the end?