What is the meaning of "ihn nie jemand" ? What is the meaning of "ihn nie jemand" in the following sentence? Gewiss, es hat ihn nie jemand zu entdecken vermocht, vielleicht hat ihn nie jemand gesucht

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박희섭(Heesob Park)

What is the meaning of "ihn nie jemand" ? What is the meaning of "ihn nie jemand" in the following sentence? Gewiss, es hat ihn nie jemand zu entdecken vermocht, vielleicht hat ihn nie jemand gesucht. I think that "es" is subject and "ihn" is a direct object.(accusative case of er) What is the case of "jemand"? Is "jemand" also a subject?

Apr 21, 2016 3:32 AM

Answers · 3

In this sentence, "es" is purely decorative, it's only a placeholder that makes the mood a bit more "passivish". You rephrase the same sentence without "es": Gewiss, ihn hat nie jemand zu entdecken vermocht, ... So "jemand" is the subject (nominative) and "ihn" is the direct object. "Es" is a sort of additional neutral subject, if you want. More details: http://www.canoo.net/services/OnlineGrammar/InflectionRules/FRegeln-P/Pron-es.html?lang=en#Anchor-es-11481

April 21, 2016

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