Breakdown of Zij moesten staken omdat de fabriek zou worden gesloten.
zij
they
moeten
to have to, must
zullen
shall / will
sluiten
to close
worden
to become
omdat
because (subordinating)
de fabriek
the factory
staken
to strike
Questions & Answers about Zij moesten staken omdat de fabriek zou worden gesloten.
How does the grammar in zou worden gesloten work to mean "would be closed"?
To say "would", we use zou (the past tense of the modal verb zullen). To make it passive, we need the infinitive verb worden (to be) plus a past participle, which here is gesloten (closed). Put them together, and you get the past passive structure: zou worden gesloten.
Why are the verbs zou worden gesloten all stacked at the very end of the sentence?
This happens because of the word omdat (because). It introduces a subordinate clause, which forces all verbs to group together at the end. If you were stating this as an independent main clause, the first verb would move back to the second position: De fabriek zou worden gesloten.
Could I change the order of the verbs at the end to zou gesloten worden?
Yes, you have some flexibility here! In a verb cluster at the end of a subordinate clause, the past participle (gesloten) can often be placed before or after the auxiliary verb (worden). Saying zou gesloten worden is completely correct and sounds very natural.
How do we know Zij means "They" here, and not "She"?
You can tell by looking at the verb. While zij can mean either "she" or "they", the verb here is moesten, which is the plural form of moeten (must/have to). If the sentence were about "she", the singular verb would be used: Zij moest staken.
Does staken mean "to strike" in the sense of hitting something?
No, staken specifically means to go on a labor strike (stopping work in protest) or to cease an activity. If you want to talk about physically hitting someone or something, you would use the verb slaan.
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