Breakdown of Die Fassade aus Beton scheint billig zu sein.
sein
to be
aus
from / out of (made of)
billig
cheap
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
scheinen
to seem
die Fassade
the facade
der Beton
the concrete
Questions & Answers about Die Fassade aus Beton scheint billig zu sein.
Why do we use aus Beton instead of translating "made of" literally with a word like gemacht?
When describing the material an object consists of, German simply uses the preposition aus followed directly by the material without an article. You don't need to add a participle like gemacht (made), though it is implied.
This lesson focuses on extended participle attributes. Since there isn't one here, how would we rewrite this sentence to use one?
To turn the material description into an extended participle attribute, you would place it before the noun along with a participle. The subject would become: Die aus Beton gebaute Fassade (Literally: The out-of-concrete-built facade).
Why do we need zu sein at the end? In English we just say "seems cheap."
While English allows "seems" to connect directly to an adjective, the German verb scheinen requires a full infinitive clause with zu when used this way. Therefore, you must explicitly say "seems cheap to be" (scheint billig zu sein).
Could we express this same subjective meaning using a modal verb instead?
Yes! At the B2 level, you learn that subjective impressions and claims can be expressed with modal verbs. If you wanted to express that it is "said to be cheap" based on what others claim, you could use sollen: Die Fassade soll billig sein.
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