Der Kritiker meint, das Ende ist ein bisschen kitschig.
The critic thinks the ending is a bit cheesy.
Breakdown of Der Kritiker meint, das Ende ist ein bisschen kitschig.
sein
to be
meinen
to mean (to have an opinion, intend)
das Ende
the ending
ein bisschen
a bit, a little
der Kritiker
the critic
kitschig
cheesy
Questions & Answers about Der Kritiker meint, das Ende ist ein bisschen kitschig.
Why is the verb ist in the second position instead of at the end of the clause?
The second part of the sentence (das Ende ist ein bisschen kitschig) acts as a subordinate clause, but the conjunction dass (that) has been left out. When you drop dass after verbs of thinking and saying (like meinen, sagen, or denken), the clause uses regular main clause word order, with the conjugated verb in the second position.
How would this sentence change if I wanted to include the word dass?
You would write: Der Kritiker meint, dass das Ende ein bisschen kitschig ist. When you use the conjunction dass, standard subordinate clause rules apply, and the conjugated verb (ist) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
Doesn't meinen mean "to mean"? Why is it translated as "thinks" here?
It can mean "to mean" (like in Was meinst du?), but it is very frequently used to express an opinion. In contexts like this, it translates best as "to think", "to believe", or "to be of the opinion".
Since this is reporting someone else's opinion, shouldn't the verb be in the Konjunktiv I (Subjunctive I)?
You absolutely could use Konjunktiv I here and say: Der Kritiker meint, das Ende sei ein bisschen kitschig. This sounds a bit more formal or journalistic. However, in everyday spoken and informal written German, using the regular indicative (ist) is perfectly natural and very common.
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