skyn/blyk te
Seem and Turn Out: Skyn and Blyk
Hy skyn moeg te wees. (He seems to be tired.) Die storie blyk waar te wees. (The story turns out to be true.)
How It Works
1. Skyn: how it seems. Skyn te gives an impression: Hy skyn moeg te wees. (He seems to be tired.) Sy skyn die antwoord te weet. (She seems to know the answer.)
2. Blyk: how it turns out. Blyk te says that facts have shown something: Die storie blyk waar te wees. (The story turns out to be true.) Die nuwe plan blyk goed te werk. (The new plan is proving to work well.)
3. Te without om. Like behoort te and hoef nie te, these verbs take te but no om. Everything else comes before te, so the adjective or object sits in the middle: blyk waar te wees, skyn die antwoord te weet.
4. With dit and dat. Both verbs also work with dit ... dat: Dit blyk dat hy reg was. (It turns out that he was right.) Dit het geblyk dat die brief vals was. (It turned out that the letter was fake.) Skyn can also take asof: Dit skyn asof niemand tuis is nie. (It seems as if nobody is home.)
Everyday speech: Lyk is the common word: Hy lyk moeg. (He looks tired.) Skyn and blyk are more usual in careful speech, news and writing.
Examples (6)
- Hy skyn moeg te wees.
He seems to be tired.
Word by Word: He seems tired to be.
- Die storie blyk waar te wees.
The story turns out to be true.
Word by Word: The story appears true to be.
- Sy skyn die antwoord te weet.
She seems to know the answer.
Word by Word: She seems the answer to know.
- Die nuwe plan blyk goed te werk.
The new plan is proving to work well.
Word by Word: The new plan appears well to work.
- Dit blyk dat hy reg was.
It turns out that he was right.
Word by Word: It appears that he right was.
With dit and dat, the fact goes into a dat-clause with the verb at the end.
- Dit skyn asof niemand tuis is nie.
It seems as if nobody is home.
Word by Word: It seems as-if nobody home is not.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out te.
Hy skyn moeg wees.Hy skyn moeg te wees.Skyn and blyk need te before the infinitive.
Putting the adjective after te wees.
Die storie blyk te wees waar.Die storie blyk waar te wees.Te and the infinitive stand at the very end, so waar comes before them.
Adding om.
Hy skyn om moeg te wees.Hy skyn moeg te wees.Standard Afrikaans uses skyn and blyk with te alone, without om.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Skyn te and blyk te use te + infinitive, like behoort te.
Related Patterns
- hoef nie teNot Have to: Hoef Nie Te
Hoef also takes te without om.
Level 3 - Verbs + om ... teVerbs Followed by Om Te
Most verbs need om ... te, unlike skyn and blyk.
Level 3 - dit ... datDit as a Placeholder for a Clause
Dit blyk dat ... puts the fact in a dat-clause.
Level 4 - asofAs if
Dit skyn asof ... means it seems as if.
Level 3 - gloGlo (Apparently)
Glo also shows that you are not sure: it reports what people say.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice skyn/blyk te in Bubblegum
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