Word
Die ganze Konstruktion wirkt instabil und irreal.
Meaning
The whole construction appears unstable and unreal.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Die ganze Konstruktion wirkt instabil und irreal.
und
and
ganz
quite, completely; whole
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Konstruktion
the construction
Questions & Answers about Die ganze Konstruktion wirkt instabil und irreal.
Why does irreal use the prefix ir- instead of in- like instabil?
Both prefixes actually come from the same Latin prefix in-, meaning 'not'. In German (just like in English), when this prefix attaches to a loanword starting with an 'r', the 'n' changes to an 'r' to make it easier to pronounce. This is called assimilation. So, in- plus real becomes irreal.
Could I use the standard German prefix un- and say unstabil or unreal instead?
For instabil, you will sometimes hear unstabil in casual speech, but instabil is the standard form. For irreal, you cannot say unreal in German; you must use irreal (or a native German equivalent like unwirklich). As a rule of thumb, adjectives borrowed from Latin prefer their matching Latin prefixes like in-, im-, il-, or ir-.
Why is the verb wirken used here for 'appears' instead of scheinen?
Wirken (which literally means 'to have an effect') is used when describing the sensory or emotional impression something gives you. It perfectly fits a physical object like a construction looking wobbly to the eye. Scheinen (to seem) often implies a more abstract or logical conclusion, though they are frequently used interchangeably.
Why does ganz get an -e ending in die ganze Konstruktion?