Learn Dutch: Vanwege het schandaal hebben ze in de auto zitten zweten. - Due to the scandal, they have been sitting sweating in the car.

This is the double infinitive rule. When a posture verb like zitten (to sit) is used with another action verb like zweten (to sweat) in the perfect tense, we do not use a past participle. Instead of saying hebben gezeten zweten, you use the full infinitive for both verbs: hebben zitten zweten.

Why is the word order hebben ze instead of ze hebben?

Because the sentence starts with the phrase Vanwege het schandaal, it triggers the V2 (verb-second) rule. The conjugated verb hebben must take the second spot in the sentence, which forces the subject ze to immediately follow it.

Does zitten here mean they are literally sitting down?

Yes, since they are in a car, they are physically sitting. However, Dutch loves using posture verbs like zitten, staan, or liggen combined with another verb to show an ongoing action, similar to the English past continuous. It emphasizes that they spent a continuous period of time sweating in the car.

Could I use wegens instead of vanwege here?