Breakdown of Die Überwachungskamera scheint leider kaputt zu sein.
sein
to be
leider
unfortunately
kaputt
broken
zu
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about Die Überwachungskamera scheint leider kaputt zu sein.
How does the scheinen ... zu construction work in this sentence?
The verb scheinen (to seem) works together with zu and an infinitive verb. Just like the English phrase 'seems to be', the conjugated verb scheint takes the second position in the sentence, while zu sein (to be) gets pushed to the very end.
Why is there an s in the middle of Überwachungskamera?
This is a compound noun made of Überwachung (surveillance) and Kamera (camera). The s in the middle is a linking letter. It makes the word easier to pronounce and almost always appears when adding a word to a noun that ends in -ung.
Why is leider placed after the verb instead of at the beginning like in the English translation?
German has strict rules about the verb being in the second position. Because the subject Die Überwachungskamera takes up the entire first position, the conjugated verb scheint must come next. Adverbs like leider (unfortunately) then naturally follow the verb.
Why does kaputt not have an adjective ending here?