Breakdown of De manager meent tijdens de vergadering onfeilbaar te zijn.
zijn
to be
de vergadering
the meeting
te
to (infinitive marker)
de manager
the manager
tijdens
during
menen
to claim / to believe (to be true)
onfeilbaar
infallible
Questions & Answers about De manager meent tijdens de vergadering onfeilbaar te zijn.
How does the combination of meent and te zijn change the meaning compared to just saying the manager is infallible?
Using meent with te plus an infinitive (here, te zijn) shows that this is the manager's own subjective claim or firm belief. It translates to 'claims to be' or 'believes himself to be' rather than a stated fact, often implying the speaker does not necessarily agree.
Why are the words te zijn placed at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, a te plus infinitive phrase acts as a complementary clause that gets pushed to the end of the sentence. The finite verb meent stays in the second position, sandwiching the other details like tijdens de vergadering onfeilbaar in the middle.
Does the verb menen always mean to claim or believe?
Not always. By itself, it can mean to be serious about something, like in the phrase ik meen het (I mean it). However, when you pair menen with a te infinitive, it specifically takes on the meaning of claiming, reckoning, or holding a firm conviction.
How can I easily remember the meaning of the word onfeilbaar?
You can break it down into recognizable parts. It combines the negative prefix on- (un- or in-), the root feil (from an old verb meaning to fail or err), and the suffix -baar (-able or -ible). Put together, it literally means un-fail-able or infallible.
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