Breakdown of Het meisje is weliswaar spontaan, maar helaas nogal slordig.
zijn
to be
het meisje
the girl
maar
but
helaas
unfortunately
slordig
careless
nogal
quite / rather (considerably, more than average)
weliswaar
admittedly / true (conceding a point)
spontaan
spontaneous
Questions & Answers about Het meisje is weliswaar spontaan, maar helaas nogal slordig.
How does the structure weliswaar ... maar function in this sentence?
The pair weliswaar ... maar is used to make a concession followed by a counter-argument, similar to "admittedly ... but" or "it is true that ... but" in English. Here, weliswaar acknowledges a positive trait (spontaan), and maar introduces the negative trait that contrasts with it (slordig).
Why isn't there a subject or verb after maar?
You can omit the subject and verb in the second clause if they are exactly the same as in the first clause. Since Het meisje is (The girl is) applies to both parts, Dutch efficiently drops them after maar, just like in English. You could technically say maar ze is helaas nogal slordig, but leaving the repeated words out sounds much more natural.
Could I put weliswaar at the very beginning of the sentence?
Yes, you can start the sentence with it to add emphasis, which would look like: Weliswaar is het meisje spontaan, maar... Notice that putting it at the start triggers inversion, meaning the verb is must come before the subject het meisje. In our example sentence, weliswaar simply sits in its standard adverb spot after the conjugated verb.
Does slordig mean physically messy, or something else here?
Slordig can mean physically untidy, like a messy room or unkempt clothes, but it also widely means sloppy, careless, or disorganized in behavior and work. When contrasted with a personality trait like spontaan (spontaneous), it usually implies that her behavior is disorganized or careless.
What is the exact nuance of nogal in this context?
Nogal translates to "rather" or "quite." It implies a noticeable degree of something, but it is slightly weaker than heel (very) or erg (very). It is very commonly used with negative adjectives like slordig to soften the criticism just a little bit.
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