Breakdown of Hij meent superieur te zijn en probeert ons te kleineren.
zijn
to be
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
en
and
proberen
to try
ons
us (object)
te
to (infinitive marker)
menen
to claim / to believe (to be true)
superieur
superior
kleineren
to belittle
Questions & Answers about Hij meent superieur te zijn en probeert ons te kleineren.
Why does meent superieur te zijn mean "claims to be superior" if menen usually means "to mean" or "to think"?
While menen often means "to mean" (as in being serious) or "to hold an opinion", combining it with te + infinitive (here, te zijn) specifically expresses a subjective claim. It implies the subject firmly believes or asserts something to be true about themselves, making "claims to be" or "believes himself to be" the most accurate translations for this structure.
Why does the verb probeert appear right after en instead of being sent to the end of the sentence?
The conjunction en connects two independent main clauses. The underlying sentence is "Hij meent superieur te zijn en [hij] probeert ons te kleineren." Because the subject (hij) is exactly the same in both clauses, it is dropped in the second half. Since this second half is still a main clause, the conjugated verb (probeert) takes the normal second position right after where the invisible subject would be.
Both halves of this sentence use a te + infinitive structure (te zijn and te kleineren). Are both required by their respective main verbs?
Yes, both menen (when expressing a claim about an action) and proberen (to try) are verbs that require the te + infinitive construction for the secondary action that follows them.
How is the verb kleineren (to belittle) formed?
The word is built directly from the adjective klein (small). By adding the verbalizing suffix -eren, it literally translates to "to make small", which aligns perfectly with the exact construction of the English word "be-little".
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