Breakdown of Esthetisch gezien is het ontwerp van de auto een groot succes.
zijn
to be
een
a/an
groot
big
de auto
the car
het
it
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
het succes
the success
het ontwerp
the design
gezien
speaking, viewed (in 'technisch gezien')
esthetisch
aesthetic
Questions & Answers about Esthetisch gezien is het ontwerp van de auto een groot succes.
How does the phrase Esthetisch gezien work here?
The word gezien literally means 'seen' or 'viewed', but when placed after an adjective like esthetisch, it limits the scope of the sentence. It translates to '-ly speaking' or 'from a ... perspective'. So esthetisch gezien means 'aesthetically speaking' or 'from an aesthetic point of view'.
Could I use qua instead of gezien to express the same idea?
Yes, but you would need to change the word class. The preposition qua (meaning 'in terms of') must be followed by a noun, whereas gezien follows an adjective. To use qua, you would have to say qua esthetica (in terms of aesthetics) instead of esthetisch gezien.
Why is the verb is placed before the subject het ontwerp?
This is a classic example of the verb-second (V2) rule. Because the sentence starts with the adverbial phrase Esthetisch gezien, the conjugated verb is must take the second position, pushing the subject het ontwerp (the design) right after it.
Why is it een groot succes without an -e at the end of groot?
This is a quick refresher on adjective endings. The word succes is a het noun. When a het word is preceded by the indefinite article een, the adjective modifying it does not get the standard -e ending.
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