Breakdown of At have vurderet porcelænet uden at kigge på stemplet er en fejl.
være
to be
en
a / an (common)
have
to have
at
to
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
fejlen
the mistake
kigge
to look
uden
without
vurdere
to assess, to evaluate
porcelænet
the porcelain
stemplet
the stamp (a rubber stamp, a postmark); the hallmark
Questions & Answers about At have vurderet porcelænet uden at kigge på stemplet er en fejl.
Since we are learning about fronting, how would I front the prepositional phrase uden at kigge på stemplet in this sentence?
You can move it to the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the condition. However, because the original subject is a very long infinitive phrase, you'll need to use the dummy subject det (it) to make it sound natural: Uden at kigge på stemplet er det en fejl at have vurderet porcelænet. Notice how the main verb er still stays in the second position!
Why does the main verb er appear so late in the sentence? Doesn't the V2 rule pull it forward?
The V2 rule requires the verb to be the second element in the main clause, not the second word. In this sentence, the entire phrase At have vurderet porcelænet uden at kigge på stemplet functions as a single unit (the subject). Since that whole heavy block is in the first position, er is perfectly placed in the second position.
Why is at kigge (to look) used here instead of a present participle like kiggende for the English word "looking"?
In English, prepositions are followed by gerunds (words ending in "-ing", like "without looking"). In Danish, prepositions such as uden (without) or ved (by/through) are always followed by the infinitive form of the verb (at kigge). You should avoid using the Danish -ende ending here, as it doesn't function the same way.
Why use the perfect infinitive at have vurderet instead of just the simple infinitive at vurdere?
The perfect infinitive (at have + past participle) is used to show that an action was completely finished before the time of the main verb. The mistake is a current reality right now (er en fejl), but the act of appraising the porcelain already happened in the past.
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