De auto was steeds langzamer gaan rijden

[Dalieux]

"De auto was steeds langzamer gaan rijden"

Is the grammar in this sentence considered as standard?
Since it's in the past perfect, why not "de auto was steeds gegaan rijden", using the past participle?

 

[Howler12]

Hallo,

Dat komt omdat er nog een infinitief volgt. Hetzelfde met bv. 'kunnen':

* Ik heb het gekund.
* Ik heb het kunnen doen.

 

[Dalieux]

I see, so in this case "gaan" is acting as a modal, right? (even though it normally isn't)
That solves the issue.
Thanks!

 

[ThomasK]

Not a modal, rather like a inchoative verb: he had started to ...

The verbs taking double inf. are of many kinds: sensorial (horen vallen), learning/ attempting (leren spreken), etc. Not only modal verbs!