Expressing Shock with Standalone "At"
In Danish, you can express strong disbelief or shock using a standalone subordinate clause starting with at (that). By dropping the main clause entirely, the sentence becomes an exclamation similar to "To think that..." or "I can't believe that..." in English.
| That he can behave so rudely! | At han kan opføre sig så uforskammet! |
| That she has the audacity to deceive her own family! | At hun har frækheden til at bedrage sin egen familie! |
Word Order in Exclamatory Clauses
Even though these clauses stand alone, they are grammatically subordinate clauses (ledsætninger). This means they follow standard subordinate word order: central adverbs (such as ikke or slet ikke) must be placed before the conjugated verb.
Notice how the adverb phrase slet ikke (not at all) comes before the verb skammer (is ashamed) in this example:
| That he is not ashamed of the dirty trick at all! | At han slet ikke skammer sig over svinestregen! |
Reacting to Social Faux Pas
These exclamations are perfect for reacting to bad behavior, rudeness, or a lack of tact.
| That the boss is so arrogant and condescending when we are busy! | At chefen er så arrogant og nedladende når vi har travlt! |
| That you can be so tactless as to slander your friend! | At du kan være så taktløs at bagtale din veninde! |
You can also express similar judgments using regular main clauses. Notice how this returns the sentence to standard main-clause word order (verb second):
| It is a bit too rude to behave like that. | Det er lige lovlig uforskammet at opføre sig sådan. |
