Breakdown of Ondanks de overtreding kreeg ze geen boete thuisgestuurd.
geen
no / not any
ze
they; she (unstressed form of zij) / them (object)
krijgen
to get (receive)
ondanks
despite
de boete
the fine
thuissturen
to send home
de overtreding
the violation
Questions & Answers about Ondanks de overtreding kreeg ze geen boete thuisgestuurd.
How does the 'krijgen' + past participle structure work in this sentence?
This sentence uses the benefactive passive. In Dutch, you use krijgen (to get) + a past participle (here, thuisgestuurd) to show that an action was done to or for the subject. Instead of saying 'A fine was sent to her,' this structure translates closely to 'She got a fine sent.' Here, kreeg is the simple past tense of krijgen.
Why is the word order kreeg ze instead of ze kreeg?
Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Ondanks de overtreding (Despite the violation). In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position (the V2 rule). Since the first position is taken by the phrase, the verb kreeg comes next, pushing the subject ze right after it.
Why is thuisgestuurd written as one long word?
It is the past participle of the separable verb thuissturen (to send home). When making a past participle of a separable verb, the -ge- goes between the prefix (thuis) and the verb stem (stuurd), and the whole thing is written together as a single word.
Why does the sentence use geen instead of niet to mean 'did not'?
In Dutch, when you negate an indefinite noun (a noun with 'a', 'an', or no article), you must use geen. So instead of negating the verb with niet, the Dutch phrasing translates literally to 'She got no fine' (geen boete).
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