Breakdown of Die Taktik des Marktführers mag aggressiv sein, aber sie funktioniert perfekt.
sein
to be
sie
she
aber
but
funktionieren
to work (function)
perfekt
perfect / perfectly
mögen
may (concessive)
der Marktführer
the market leader
die Taktik
the tactic
aggressiv
aggressive
Questions & Answers about Die Taktik des Marktführers mag aggressiv sein, aber sie funktioniert perfekt.
How does mag mean "may" here instead of "likes"?
In this lesson's context, mögen is used subjectively to express a concession. By pairing mag with aber in the next clause, it sets up a "may be X, but Y" structure. This acknowledges a fact before countering it, exactly like "may" in English.
Why is the genitive form des Marktführers used here?
It shows possession: "the tactic of the market leader." Since Marktführer is a masculine noun, the article changes to des and the noun takes an -s ending in the genitive case.
Why do we use sie for "it" in the second half of the sentence?
The pronoun sie refers back to die Taktik. Because Taktik is a feminine noun, it requires the feminine pronoun sie, even though it translates to "it" in English.
Does aber change the word order in the second clause?
No, aber is a coordinating conjunction, which means it occupies position zero. The subject sie takes position one, and the conjugated verb funktioniert stays in standard position two.
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