Vi åbner brætspillet uden at læse regelbogen.

Because åbner is the present tense form of the verb at åbne (to open).

• at åbne = to open
• jeg åbner = I open / I am opening
• vi åbner = we open / we are opening

In Danish, the present tense usually ends in -r.

Because the two verbs are doing different jobs in the sentence.

• åbner is the main finite verb of the sentence, so it does not take at.
• læse comes after uden at, and here it is an infinitive, so it does take at.

Compare:

• Vi åbner brætspillet. = We open the board game.
• uden at læse = without reading

So at here works like the infinitive marker to in English.

Uden at means without doing something.

It is a very common Danish pattern:

• uden at læse = without reading
• uden at sige noget = without saying anything
• uden at vente = without waiting

So in this sentence, uden at læse regelbogen means without reading the rulebook.

Because brætspillet is the definite form: the board game.

Danish usually adds the definite article as an ending on the noun:

• et brætspil = a board game
• brætspillet = the board game

So instead of using a separate word for the, Danish often attaches it to the end of the noun.

Because Danish often prefers compound nouns, just like English often does.

• regel = rule
• bog = book
• regelbog = rulebook

Then the definite ending is added:

• en regelbog = a rulebook
• regelbogen = the rulebook

So regelbogen is a very natural Danish way to say the rulebook.

That depends on the noun’s gender.

In Danish, common nouns are usually either:

• common gender (en-words)
• neuter (et-words)

Examples here:

• et brætspil → brætspillet
• en regelbog → regelbogen

So:

• et-word definite ending: usually -et
• en-word definite ending: usually -en

This is something you have to learn with each noun: et brætspil, but en regelbog.

Yes. Læse is the infinitive form of the verb at læse (to read).

After uden at, Danish uses at + infinitive:

• uden at læse
• uden at forstå
• uden at spørge

So læse is not present tense here. It is the basic verb form used after at.

This is standard Danish main-clause word order:

1. Vi = subject
2. åbner = finite verb
3. brætspillet = object
4. uden at læse regelbogen = extra phrase explaining how/under what circumstances

So the basic structure is:

• Subject + verb + object + adverbial phrase

This is very normal Danish sentence order.

Yes. The Danish present tense often covers both:

• We open
• We are opening

So vi åbner can be understood as either a general present or an action happening now, depending on context.

Because Danish usually expresses definiteness by adding an ending to the noun rather than using a separate article in simple cases.

So:

• et brætspil = a board game

• brætspillet = the board game

• en regelbog = a rulebook
• regelbogen = the rulebook

A separate definite word can appear in other structures, especially with adjectives:

• det store brætspil = the big board game
• den gamle regelbog = the old rulebook

But without adjectives, the ending alone is normal.

Yes. Danish uses compound nouns very freely, much like German and often like English.

• bræt = board
• spil = game
• brætspil = board game

Likewise:

• regel + bog = regelbog

These compounds are usually written as one word in Danish.

Then åbner would change to the past tense åbnede:

• Vi åbnede brætspillet uden at læse regelbogen.

Notice that læse stays the same, because it is still part of the uden at + infinitive structure.

The sentence contains the Danish letter å in åbner.

Å is a separate letter in the Danish alphabet, not just an a with a mark. It comes at the end of the alphabet.

In pronunciation, it is generally a vowel sound somewhat like the vowel in English law or more, though exact pronunciation depends on accent and word.

So åbner must be learned and spelled with å, not a.

No. That would be ungrammatical in standard Danish.

After uden when you mean without doing something, you normally say:

• uden at + infinitive

So the correct form is:

• uden at læse regelbogen

Not:

• uden læse regelbogen

Because the sentence is talking about specific, identifiable things in the situation:

• brætspillet = the board game
• regelbogen = the rulebook

This is natural when the speaker means a particular game and its rulebook, not just any game or any rulebook.

If you changed them to indefinite forms, the meaning would become less specific:

• Vi åbner et brætspil uden at læse en regelbog.

That sounds much less natural in most contexts, because a board game normally comes with its own specific rulebook.