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Nadie puede sustituir a nuestro capitán.

Nadie puede sustituir a nuestro capitán.
No one can substitute for our captain.
From Lesson 404:Football: substitutes, kicks and pride (sustituir, la patada, el orgullo)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Nadie puede sustituir a nuestro capitán.

Why is there an a before nuestro capitán?
This is the personal a. In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb is a specific person, you must put an a in front of it. Here, the captain is a specific person being substituted, so it becomes sustituir a nuestro capitán.
Since nadie is a negative word, shouldn't there be a no in this sentence?
Not when nadie comes before the verb. Spanish uses double negatives only if the negative word comes after the verb. Because nadie is the subject and sits at the front, adding no would be grammatically incorrect here.
How would the sentence change if I moved nadie to the end?
If you move nadie after the verb, you must add a negative word (usually no) before the verb to create a valid double negative. The sentence would become: No puede sustituir a nuestro capitán nadie.
Could I use reemplazar instead of sustituir here?
Yes, reemplazar and sustituir are largely synonymous when talking about replacing a person in a role or a player in a game. However, sustituir is especially common in Spanish sports contexts (like a football match) when talking about making a substitution.

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