Breakdown of Is de nieuwe gast echt zo kieskeurig?
zijn
to be
nieuw
new
zo
so (to such a degree)
echt
real; really (genuinely)
de gast
the guest
kieskeurig
picky / fussy
Questions & Answers about Is de nieuwe gast echt zo kieskeurig?
Why use zo instead of dat for the English 'that picky'?
In English, 'that' is often used to mean 'to that extent' or 'so'. In Dutch, demonstrative words like dat and die are only used to point to nouns. To express degree, you must always use zo (so), making it zo kieskeurig.
How is the word kieskeurig formed?
It is a combination of the stems of two verbs: kiezen (to choose) and keuren (to inspect, judge, or approve). A kieskeurig person is literally someone who heavily inspects before choosing, which perfectly translates to 'picky' or 'fussy'.
If I wanted to answer 'No, and neither is the old guest' using this lesson's grammar, how would I use evenmin?
You would say: Nee, en de oude gast evenmin. The word evenmin means 'nor' or 'neither' and acts as a formal replacement for ook niet (also not). Since evenmin is already negative, you do not add niet to the phrase.
Could I place echt at the very end of the sentence?
No, adverbs of degree like echt (really) need to stay close to the adjective phrase they modify. Placing it right before zo kieskeurig is the most natural word order here.
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