Breakdown of Vanwege het schandaal hebben ze in de auto zitten zweten.
de auto
the car
hebben
to have
in
in
zitten
to sit
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
vanwege
because of / due to (reason)
het schandaal
the scandal
zweten
to sweat
Questions & Answers about Vanwege het schandaal hebben ze in de auto zitten zweten.
Why does the sentence end with zitten zweten instead of using a past participle like gezeten?
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?
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?
Yes! Both vanwege and wegens mean due to or because of, and they are followed by a noun (like het schandaal). You can use them interchangeably, though vanwege is a bit more common in everyday conversations.
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