Breakdown of Es ist gefährlich, am König Kritik zu üben.
sein
to be
es
it
gefährlich
dangerous
der König
the king
zu
to (infinitive marker)
Kritik üben an
to criticize (formal phrase)
Questions & Answers about Es ist gefährlich, am König Kritik zu üben.
Why do we use üben here instead of the normal verb kritisieren?
This is a Nomen-Verb-Verbindung (noun-verb combination). While you can simply say den König kritisieren, formal or written German often pairs a noun (Kritik) with a support verb (üben). Literally meaning 'to practice criticism,' it is just an elevated way to say 'to criticize'.
Why does the sentence use am König rather than a direct object?
Because this specific noun-verb combination relies on a preposition. The fixed phrase is Kritik üben an + Dative. The word am is the contraction of an dem. Therefore, the target of the criticism must be connected using the preposition an in the dative case.
Why is am König placed before Kritik zu üben?
In a noun-verb combination, the noun (Kritik) and the verb (üben) form a tight grammatical unit. Because they belong closely together, Kritik stays at the very end of the clause right next to its verb, pushing the prepositional object (am König) in front of the noun.
Is the comma after gefährlich mandatory?
Yes. This is an extended infinitive clause (an infinitive phrase containing additional elements besides zu and the verb). German grammar requires a comma to separate an extended infinitive clause from a main clause like Es ist gefährlich.
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