Breakdown of Die intelligente robot deed ons huiveren.
die
that / those (de-words and plurals)
ons
us (object)
de robot
the robot
intelligent
intelligent
Questions & Answers about Die intelligente robot deed ons huiveren.
Why does this sentence use deed instead of liet?
This highlights the main rule of the current lesson. Doen is used when a subject triggers an involuntary physical or emotional reaction in someone (like shuddering, crying, or sweating). Laten is used for giving permission or delegating an active task. Since shuddering (huiveren) is an uncontrollable reaction, deed is the correct choice.
Since the English translation is 'made us shudder', could I use maakte instead of deed here?
No, and this is a classic trap for English speakers! In Dutch, you cannot use maken plus an infinitive to say you 'made someone do an action'. You must use doen (for involuntary reactions) or laten (for other actions). You only use maken to express making someone into a certain state or adjective, for example: Die robot maakte ons bang (That robot made us afraid).
Why is there no te before huiveren?
When doen and laten are used as causative verbs (meaning they cause another action to happen), they act just like modal verbs. They send the second verb to the end of the clause as a bare infinitive, meaning you never add te before it.
Just as a quick refresher, why does intelligente get an -e ending here?