Breakdown of Die Frau erhält im Salon die Haare geföhnt.
die Frau
the woman
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
das Haar
the hair
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
föhnen
to blow-dry
erhalten
to receive
Questions & Answers about Die Frau erhält im Salon die Haare geföhnt.
How does the recipient passive work in this sentence?
The active version of this idea would involve someone blow-drying the hair for the woman, using the dative case for her (der Frau). The recipient passive allows us to take that dative receiver and promote her to the nominative subject (Die Frau). We use erhält plus the past participle geföhnt to express that she is the beneficiary having this service done for her.
Could I use bekommt or kriegt instead of erhält here?
Why does the sentence use die Haare instead of ihre Haare?
When talking about body parts or items of clothing, German generally prefers the definite article (die) over a possessive pronoun (ihre) if context makes it obvious whose body part it is. Since Die Frau is the one receiving the service, it is already clear that it is her own hair being blow-dried.
Why is the past participle geföhnt placed at the very end of the sentence?
The recipient passive uses a standard sentence frame, often called the verb bracket. Just like in the perfect tense or sentences with modal verbs, the conjugated helping verb (erhält) takes the second position in the main clause, pushing the past participle (geföhnt) to the very end.
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