Time clauses (efter at, så snart at)

Sequencing Events with efter at and så snart at

Danish uses the subordinating conjunctions efter at (after) and så snart at (as soon as) to sequence events.

Using efter at (After)

When forming sentences with time clauses, pay attention to word order:

  • If the main clause comes first, use standard word order (subject, then verb).
  • If the sentence starts with the subordinate clause, the main clause must invert its word order (verb, then subject) to keep the main verb in the second position (the V2 rule).
After she writes the manuscript, she sends it to the publisher.
Efter at hun skriver manuskriptet, sender hun det til forlaget.
After we find the title, we write the next chapter.
Efter at vi finder titlen, skriver vi det næste kapitel.
They can print the book after the cover is finished.
De kan trykke bogen efter at omslaget er færdigt.

Using så snart at (As soon as)

To express that an action happens immediately after another, use så snart at (as soon as). It follows the exact same word order rules. (Note: In spoken Danish, people sometimes drop the *at and just say så snart).*

As soon as the publisher gets the manuscript, the editor reads it.
Så snart at forlaget får manuskriptet, læser redaktøren det.
The editor corrects the first chapter as soon as it is finished.
Redaktøren retter det første kapitel så snart at det er færdigt.
We can print the book as soon as we have the title.
Vi kan trykke bogen så snart at vi har titlen.

Here are a few more examples to help you practice time clauses and word order:

As soon as the author writes the last chapter, our publisher plans the publication.
Så snart at forfatteren skriver det sidste kapitel, planlægger vores forlag udgivelsen.
After the author corrects the manuscript, the book is ready for the publication.
Efter at forfatteren retter manuskriptet, er bogen klar til udgivelsen.
As soon as we know the title, we draw the cover.
Så snart at vi kender titlen, tegner vi omslaget.
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