Breakdown of Sich an die Mentalität zu gewöhnen, dauert lange.
lange
for a long time, long
dauern
to last / to take (time)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
sich gewöhnen an
to get used to
die Mentalität
the mentality
Questions & Answers about Sich an die Mentalität zu gewöhnen, dauert lange.
Why is there no es before dauert here? Normally we say Es dauert lange.
The entire infinitive clause (Sich an die Mentalität zu gewöhnen) acts as the subject of the sentence and takes up Position 1. Because Position 1 is already filled by this logical subject, the verb dauert correctly sits in Position 2, and the dummy subject es is no longer needed. If you moved the clause to the end, the es would come back: Es dauert lange, sich an die Mentalität zu gewöhnen.
Why is an followed by the accusative (die Mentalität) instead of the dative?
While an is a two-way preposition that often takes the dative for fixed locations, here it is part of a fixed verb-preposition combination: sich gewöhnen an (to get used to). This specific combination always requires the accusative case, regardless of location or movement.
Why does the sentence start with the reflexive pronoun sich?
In an infinitive clause, the word order is similar to a standard subordinate clause, just without the subject. The reflexive pronoun sich goes as close to the beginning of the clause as possible. Since this entire infinitive clause is in Position 1, sich naturally becomes the very first word of the sentence.
In English, the subject is the '-ing' word 'Getting'. Can we use a noun like Das Gewöhnen in German?
You could grammatically say Das Gewöhnen an die Mentalität dauert lange, but it sounds quite stiff and clunky. German strongly prefers using infinitive clauses with zu to express actions that act as the subject of a sentence. It is the most natural way to translate an English gerund phrase.
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