Sin duda...

Question

Buenas tardes Inma y Silvia,

I just wanted to check with you if there is an error in the following sentence from this passage:

...compañías ofrecen sin dudar la tecnología más vanguardista...

Should it be "sin duda"= 'without doubt'? I believe 'sin dudar' means 'without hesitation'?

Gracias :)

Accepted Answer

Hola ClaraI see what you mean. It'd be OK with both options actually. If we use "sin dudar" it'd mean  more precisely "without doubting". We have both options as correct as the interpretations/meanings are very similar. Gracias y un saludoInma

Answer

It is an interesting and useful question [Thank you Clara !] because it led me to the section in my grammar book which says "The distinction between active and passive can sometimes be blurred in infinitive constructions".

Admittedly, the sentence cited by Clara does not provide an example of this [> the alternative form "without being doubted" does not really fit here], but the book does give several illustrations using "sin":

1. una cerveza sin abrir = an unopened beer;

2. Pasaba el tiempo sin sentir = Time passed unnoticed;

3. un partido heterogéneo y sin estructurar = a heterogeneous and unstructured political party.

[An ambiguous sentence without "sin" is "Vi matar a dos leones" = "I saw two lions killed", but also = "I saw two lions kill"].