Breakdown of Seine tiefgründige Weisheit vermochte jedes Problem zu lösen.
das Problem
the problem
sein
his
jeder
everyone / each
lösen
to solve
zu
to (infinitive marker)
vermögen
to be able to (formal)
tiefgründig
profound
die Weisheit
the wisdom
Questions & Answers about Seine tiefgründige Weisheit vermochte jedes Problem zu lösen.
How does vermochte function here, and why is there a zu before lösen?
Vermochte is the simple past (Präteritum) of the verb vermögen, which is a formal, elevated way to say 'to be able to' or 'can'. Unlike the modal verb können (which would be used as konnte jedes Problem lösen without a zu), vermögen is not a modal verb and therefore requires a zu before the infinitive at the end of the sentence.
Is vermögen a regular or irregular verb? How does it conjugate in the past tense?
It is a mixed verb, meaning it combines features of both regular and irregular verbs. It is conjugated exactly like its root word mögen. The stem vowel changes to an 'o' in the simple past (ich vermochte, er vermochte), but it still takes the regular past tense endings like -te.
Why does tiefgründige end in -e here?
It modifies Weisheit, which is a feminine noun and the subject of the sentence (nominative case). Because it comes after the possessive determiner seine, the adjective takes the mixed declension ending for feminine nominative, which is -e.
What case is jedes Problem, and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object being acted upon by the infinitive verb lösen (to solve). Since Problem is a neuter noun (das Problem), the determiner jeder takes the neuter accusative ending -es to become jedes.
What is the literal breakdown of the adjective tiefgründige?
It comes from tief (deep) and Grund (ground, bottom, or foundation). So something that is tiefgründig literally goes deep into the ground or bottom of a matter, which translates nicely to 'profound' or 'in-depth' in English.
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