Breakdown of Gid han havde undgået den skæbnesvangre kollision.
han
he
have
to have
den
the (common, before adjective)
gid
if only / I wish
undgå
to avoid
skæbnesvanger
fateful
kollisionen
the collision
Questions & Answers about Gid han havde undgået den skæbnesvangre kollision.
How does gid show that this is an unrealized wish in the past?
The word gid translates to 'if only' or 'I wish'. To express that we are wishing for something to have happened differently in the past, we pair gid with the past perfect tense. In this sentence, that is havde plus the past participle undgået (had avoided).
Why do we use straight word order (han havde) instead of inversion after gid?
Gid introduces a subordinate clause. In Danish, subordinate clauses use straight word order, meaning the subject comes before the verb. That is why we see han havde instead of havde han. If you wanted to add a sentence adverb like aldrig (never), it would follow the subordinate clause rule and go before the first verb: Gid han aldrig havde undgået...
Why does the adjective skæbnesvangre drop a letter compared to its base form?
The base form of the adjective is skæbnesvanger (fateful). Because it is used here with the definite article den (the), the adjective must take the definite ending -e. When a Danish adjective ends in an unstressed -er, the final e of the root usually drops out when adding the definite or plural -e ending. Therefore, skæbnesvanger becomes skæbnesvangre.
How is the past participle undgået formed?
It comes from the infinitive at undgå (to avoid). It is a compound verb made of the prefix und- and the root verb gå (to walk or to go). The past participle is simply the prefix attached to the standard past participle of the root verb, which is gået.
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