Learn Dutch: Vanwege de storm zou ik thuis zijn gebleven. - Due to the storm, I would have stayed home.

To express "would have" in Dutch, you use zou (or zouden) along with the infinitive of the helping verb (hebben or zijn) and a past participle. In this sentence, that combination is zou + zijn + gebleven.

Why does this sentence use zijn instead of hebben for "would have"?

In English, we always say "would have". However, in Dutch, if a verb uses zijn in the present perfect (like ik ben gebleven for "I have stayed"), it must also use zijn in the past conditional. Because blijven (to stay) takes zijn, we get zou... zijn gebleven.

Why is the word order zou ik instead of ik zou?

Because the sentence starts with the phrase Vanwege de storm (Due to the storm), it triggers inversion. This means the first verb (zou) must take the second position in the sentence, immediately followed by the subject (ik).

Does zijn have to come before gebleven at the end of the sentence?