Breakdown of Omdat ze harder reed dan de maximumsnelheid, kreeg ze een hogere boete thuisgestuurd.
een
a/an
hard
loud / fast (forceful) / hard (with effort)
rijden
to drive
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
Questions & Answers about Omdat ze harder reed dan de maximumsnelheid, kreeg ze een hogere boete thuisgestuurd.
How does the passive with krijgen work in this sentence?
The structure kreeg ... thuisgestuurd (got ... sent home) is a benefactive passive. Instead of using the normal passive with worden (to be), we use krijgen (to get) plus a past participle (thuisgestuurd) to show that the subject (ze) is the recipient of the action, rather than the person who sent the fine.
Why is reed placed before dan de maximumsnelheid in the omdat clause? Shouldn't the verb go at the very end?
Normally, a subordinating conjunction like omdat pushes all verbs to the end of the clause. However, comparison phrases starting with dan (than) or als (as) are an exception and are usually placed after the final verb. Putting it before the verb (Omdat ze harder dan de maximumsnelheid reed) is grammatically allowed, but putting it at the very end sounds much more natural.
Why is the main verb kreeg placed before the subject ze?
This is due to the verb-second (V2) rule. The entire first clause (Omdat ze harder reed dan de maximumsnelheid) acts as the first block of information in the main sentence. To keep the main verb (kreeg) in the strict second position, the subject (ze) has to swap places with it.
Why is the comparative of hoog written as hogere?