Word
De nieuwe hype schijnt helemaal nep te zijn.
Meaning
The new hype seems to be completely fake.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about De nieuwe hype schijnt helemaal nep te zijn.
How would I say this using a dat (that) clause instead of the te + infinitive structure?
You would say Het schijnt dat de nieuwe hype helemaal nep is. In this lesson's structure, we take the subject of the dat-clause (de nieuwe hype) and make it the subject of the main verb (schijnt). Then, the conjugated verb from the dat-clause (is) turns into the infinitive form te zijn and moves to the end of the sentence.
Why use schijnt here instead of lijkt, since both translate to "seems"?
Schijnen specifically implies hearsay or rumor, meaning you heard or read from others that the hype is fake. If you used lijkt (De nieuwe hype lijkt helemaal nep te zijn), it would mean it appears fake based on your own direct observation. Because a hype is a social phenomenon, the rumor-based verb schijnt fits perfectly.
Why is te zijn placed at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you have a conjugated verb in the second position (schijnt) and an infinitive, the infinitive is pushed to the end of the clause. The word te must stick directly in front of the infinitive it belongs to, so the cluster te zijn lands at the absolute end, after the description helemaal nep.
Is the word nep used for abstract things like a "hype" as well as physical objects?