Genitive preposition 'vermittels' (by means of)

vermittels is a rare, high-register genitive preposition meaning by means of. It is the more formal variant of mittels and belongs to legal and administrative prose.

It governs the genitive:

• vermittels eines Tricks - by means of a trick
• vermittels einer Vollmacht - by means of a power of attorney

Examples:

• Vermittels eines Tricks gelang die Flucht. - By means of a trick the escape succeeded.
• Die Daten wurden vermittels eines speziellen Verfahrens erhoben. - The data were collected by means of a special procedure.

Common mistakes: Use the genitive, not the dative (vermittels eines Tricks, not vermittels einem Trick) - though, as with several rare genitive prepositions, a bare article-less noun can drift toward the dative in practice. The word is very formal; in normal prose mit, durch or mittels are more natural. Do not confuse it with the verb vermitteln (to mediate).

'vermittels' (by means of) takes the genitive; a formal variant of 'mittels'.

Formal 'by means of'; takes the genitive.

'vermittels' (durch) steht mit dem Genitiv; gehobene Variante von 'mittels'.