Breakdown of Er kann den Rhythmus nicht fehlerfrei spielen, geschweige denn eine anspruchsvolle Sinfonie beherrschen.
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
spielen
to play
nicht
not
Questions & Answers about Er kann den Rhythmus nicht fehlerfrei spielen, geschweige denn eine anspruchsvolle Sinfonie beherrschen.
How does geschweige denn affect the word order in this sentence?
geschweige denn acts like a coordinating conjunction here (similar to und or oder). It doesn't push the verb to the end on its own. Instead, it connects the two infinitive phrases den Rhythmus nicht fehlerfrei spielen and eine anspruchsvolle Sinfonie beherrschen, both of which depend on the modal verb kann in the first clause. That is why the infinitive beherrschen sits at the end of its phrase.
Does geschweige denn always have to follow a negative statement like nicht?
Yes, almost always. geschweige denn translates to 'let alone' or 'not to mention,' which logically requires a preceding negative statement to build up to an even more unlikely scenario. In this sentence, because he cannot even do the easier thing (nicht fehlerfrei spielen), he certainly cannot do the harder thing.
Is there a trick to remembering the phrase geschweige denn?
Look closely at the word geschweige. It comes from the verb schweigen, which means 'to be silent.' So literally, the phrase means something like 'to remain silent about,' which perfectly matches the English idiom 'not to mention.'
Why is it fehlerfrei instead of a phrase like ohne Fehler?