Breakdown of Niemand vermag diesen Mentor zu ersetzen.
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
niemand
no one
zu
to (infinitive marker)
ersetzen
to replace
vermögen
to be able to (formal)
der Mentor
the mentor
Questions & Answers about Niemand vermag diesen Mentor zu ersetzen.
How is vermag ... zu ersetzen different from just using kann ... ersetzen?
The verb vermögen means to be capable or to have the power to do something. It is a highly formal, literary synonym for können. Grammatically, the main difference is that können is a true modal verb and pairs with a bare infinitive (kann ersetzen), whereas vermögen requires the zu plus infinitive structure (vermag zu ersetzen).
Why is the verb conjugated as vermag instead of vermögt?
The verb vermögen is based on the root verb mögen. It follows the exact same irregular conjugation pattern with a stem vowel change. Just as the third-person singular of mögen is mag, the third-person singular of vermögen is vermag.
Why is it diesen Mentor and not dieser Mentor?
Even though it appears earlier in the sentence, diesen Mentor is the direct object of the verb at the very end, ersetzen (to replace). Because Mentor is a masculine noun receiving the action, it must take the accusative case, changing the demonstrative pronoun dieser to diesen.
Could I put the object after the infinitive phrase, like Niemand vermag zu ersetzen diesen Mentor?
No, standard German sentence structure requires the zu plus infinitive to be placed at the very end of its clause. The conjugated verb vermag in the second position and the infinitive phrase zu ersetzen at the end create a sentence bracket that must enclose the object diesen Mentor.
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