Breakdown of Was de taxi maar doorgereden!
zijn
to be
de taxi
the taxi
maar
just, go ahead (softening particle)
doorrijden
to drive on / to continue driving
Questions & Answers about Was de taxi maar doorgereden!
Why does this sentence start with the verb Was instead of the subject de taxi?
This is a verb-first (V1) exclamation. By putting the verb first and adding the particle maar, you create a strong statement of regret or an unfulfilled wish, translating to 'If only...!' in English.
Why is the auxiliary verb Was used here instead of Had? Doesn't English use 'had driven'?
The main verb is doorrijden (to drive on). In Dutch, verbs that express a continuous motion or a change of location often use zijn (to be) as their auxiliary verb in perfect tenses, rather than hebben (to have). Therefore, we use was instead of had.
How is the past participle doorgereden formed?
It comes from the separable verb doorrijden. When forming the past participle of a separable verb, the ge- goes between the prefix (door) and the verb stem (reden), and it is all written together as one word: doorgereden.
Could I use toch instead of maar in this sentence?
Yes! You can say Was de taxi toch doorgereden! Both maar and toch are modal particles that work with this verb-first structure to express a strong wish or regret. maar is slightly more common for 'If only...' structures, but both are correct and mean the same thing here.
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