Breakdown of Der Zauberer vergisst den Trick, anstatt ihn zu üben.
ihn
him
vergessen
to forget
zu
to (infinitive marker)
üben
to practice
Questions & Answers about Der Zauberer vergisst den Trick, anstatt ihn zu üben.
How does the anstatt ... zu structure work in this sentence?
anstatt ... zu means "instead of [doing something]". In German, you put anstatt right after the comma, and the zu + infinitive verb goes at the very end of the sentence. Here, the action being skipped is practicing, so zu üben goes at the end.
Why is the word for "it" ihn? Shouldn't "it" be es?
In German, pronouns have to match the gender of the noun they replace. "The trick" is masculine (der Trick). Since it's the direct object being practiced, it is in the accusative case. The accusative "it" for a masculine noun is ihn (which literally translates to "him").
Can I just use statt instead of anstatt here?
Yes, absolutely! statt and anstatt mean the exact same thing in this context. You could say ..., statt ihn zu üben, and it would be perfectly correct and natural.
Why does the verb vergessen (to forget) change to vergisst with an "i"?
vergessen is a stem-changing verb. When used with du (you) or er/sie/es (he/she/it), the e in the stem changes to an i. So, since the magician is a "he", it becomes er vergisst.