Breakdown of Ze menen het recht te hebben om hem te kleineren.
hebben
to have
hem
him
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
te
to (infinitive marker)
om
in order to
het recht
the right
menen
to claim / to believe (to be true)
kleineren
to belittle
Questions & Answers about Ze menen het recht te hebben om hem te kleineren.
Why does menen translate as "claim" here instead of "mean"?
The verb menen usually means "to mean" (as in being serious: ik meen het). However, when you use the structure menen + te + infinitive (like menen ... te hebben), it expresses that the subject firmly believes or claims something is true. It also often adds a subtle hint that the speaker doubts this claim.
Why are there two separate te + infinitive constructions in this sentence?
They serve completely different grammatical functions. The first one, te hebben, links back to menen to form the main claim ("They claim to have"). The second one, om hem te kleineren, is a separate clause that attaches to the noun het recht to explain exactly what that right is ("the right to belittle him").
Is the word om strictly necessary in om hem te kleineren?
No, after nouns that express a condition or opportunity like het recht (the right), de tijd (the time), or de kans (the chance), the word om is technically optional. You could say het recht te hebben hem te kleineren, but including om sounds very natural and helps separate the two infinitive clauses clearly for the listener.
How is the verb kleineren constructed?
It is built directly from the adjective klein (small). You add -er to make the comparative "smaller," and then add the verb ending -en. Literally, it means "to make smaller," which uses the exact same logic as the English word "be-little."
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