Breakdown of Efter at hun skriver manuskriptet, sender hun det til forlaget.
hun
she
det
it (neuter)
skrive
to write
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
sende
to send
efter at
after (conjunction)
manuskriptet
the manuscript
forlaget
the publisher
Questions & Answers about Efter at hun skriver manuskriptet, sender hun det til forlaget.
Why is there an at after efter in this sentence?
In Danish, efter by itself is a preposition used before nouns, like in efter maden (after the food). When you want to use 'after' to introduce a full clause with a subject and a verb, like hun skriver, you must use the subordinating conjunction efter at.
Why is the word order sender hun instead of hun sender in the second half?
This happens because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause, Efter at hun skriver manuskriptet, counts as the first building block of the overall sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, sender has to come next, swapping places with the subject hun.
Why is the pronoun det used here for 'it'?
The pronoun det refers back to manuskriptet (the manuscript). Because et manuskript is a neuter noun (an et-word), you must use the neuter pronoun det rather than the common-gender pronoun den.
Could I use the perfect tense in the first clause instead of the present tense?
Yes! It is actually very common in Danish to say Efter at hun har skrevet manuskriptet (After she has written the manuscript) to emphasize that the writing is fully completed before the sending begins. However, using the present tense skriver as shown here is also grammatically correct.
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