Breakdown of Tijdens de nacht heeft hij naar de oprit zitten gluren.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
hebben
to have
naar
to
zitten
to sit
Questions & Answers about Tijdens de nacht heeft hij naar de oprit zitten gluren.
Why do we use zitten here instead of the past participle gezeten?
This sentence uses the double infinitive rule. When you use a posture verb like zitten along with another verb to say you were doing something while sitting, the perfect tense uses two infinitives at the end of the sentence instead of a past participle. Because of this, gezeten becomes the infinitive zitten right before gluren.
Why is the word order heeft hij and not hij heeft?
The sentence starts with the time phrase Tijdens de nacht. In Dutch, the conjugated verb must take the second position in a main clause. Since the time phrase takes up position one, the helping verb heeft comes second, which forces the subject hij into the third spot (this is called inversion).
Why do we use naar to mean 'at' the driveway?
Just like the common verb kijken (to look), the verb gluren (to peek or spy) pairs with the preposition naar to indicate what someone is looking at. So, 'peeking at' translates to gluren naar.
Why does naar de oprit come before zitten gluren?