Breakdown of Sie heiratet niemand anderes als den Kaiser.
sie
she
heiraten
to marry
niemand anderes als
nobody else but
der Kaiser
the emperor
Questions & Answers about Sie heiratet niemand anderes als den Kaiser.
Why is the ending -es used in niemand anderes?
After indefinite pronouns like niemand, the following adjective usually takes a strong neuter ending (-es). This creates the fixed phrase niemand anderes als (nobody else but / none other than). You might also hear the shortened form niemand anders in everyday spoken German.
Why is it den Kaiser in the accusative case here?
The verb heiraten requires a direct object in the accusative case. Since the phrase niemand anderes acts as this direct object, the noun following als must match that accusative case.
Since it is the direct object, why isn't the pronoun declined as niemanden?
While niemanden is the strict accusative form, it is very common in modern German to leave niemand undeclined in both the accusative and dative cases. When paired with anderes, the uninflected niemand is actually preferred by native speakers.
Does German ever use a preposition with heiraten, similar to 'marrying to' in English?
No, heiraten strictly takes a direct accusative object without a preposition. If you wanted to use a preposition like mit (with), you would have to use the reflexive construction sich verheiraten mit (to get married to), but the basic verb heiraten never takes a preposition.
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