Ik houd van pittig eten, maar deze soep is zo zuur dat Tom meer water toevoegt.

In Dutch, houden van is a very common way to say to like or to love, especially for things in general:

• Ik houd van pittig eten = I like spicy food
• literally, it is closer to I hold of..., but you should learn it as one fixed expression

Dutch also has leuk vinden, but that is used differently:

• Ik vind deze soep lekker = I think this soup tastes good
• Ik houd van pittig eten = I like spicy food in general

So in your sentence, houden van is the natural choice.

Yes. Both are possible:

• Ik houd van
• Ik hou van

Both mean the same thing. Houd is a bit more formal or careful in writing, while hou is very common in everyday language.

The full verb is houden. In the ik form, Dutch often drops the -en ending:

• ik houd / hou
• jij houdt / hou (depending on style)
• hij houdt

So Ik houd van pittig eten is completely correct.

Here, pittig means spicy or hot in the food sense.

So:

• pittig eten = spicy food

Be careful: pittig can also mean things like strong, sharp, or tough/challenging depending on context. But with food, it usually means spicy.

Because soep is a de-word noun.

In Dutch:

• deze is used with de-words
• dit is used with het-words

Since it is:

• de soep

you say:

• deze soep

Compare:

• deze tafel
• deze soep
• dit huis
• dit boek

Zo ... dat means so ... that.

In your sentence:

• zo zuur dat Tom meer water toevoegt
• so sour that Tom adds more water

This is a very common Dutch structure:

• Het is zo warm dat ik niet kan slapen.
  = It is so warm that I can’t sleep.
• Hij is zo moe dat hij vroeg naar bed gaat.
  = He is so tired that he goes to bed early.

So zo introduces the degree, and dat introduces the result.

Because dat Tom meer water toevoegt is a subordinate clause.

In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb often goes to the end:

• Tom voegt meer water toe.
  main clause
• ... dat Tom meer water toevoegt.
  subordinate clause

This is one of the most important Dutch word-order patterns to learn.

So the sentence works like this:

• main clause: Ik houd van pittig eten
• main clause after maar: deze soep is zo zuur
• subordinate clause after dat: Tom meer water toevoegt

Great question. The verb is toevoegen, which is a separable verb.

In a normal main clause, separable verbs split:

• Tom voegt meer water toe.

But in an infinitive or subordinate clause, they usually stay together:

• Tom wil meer water toevoegen.
• ... dat Tom meer water toevoegt.

So:

• main clause: voegt ... toe
• subordinate clause: toevoegt

This is a very common Dutch pattern with separable verbs.

Because water is an uncountable noun here, just like in English.

So Dutch says:

• meer water = more water

You do not normally use an article with it in this kind of sentence.

Compare:

• meer soep = more soup
• meer melk = more milk
• meer suiker = more sugar

If you said een water, that would usually only work in special contexts, like ordering a bottle or glass of water, not in this sentence.

Here zuur means sour.

So:

• deze soep is zo zuur = this soup is so sour

Yes, zuur can also mean:

• chemically acidic
• figuratively bitter or sour-faced in some contexts

But with food, the most natural meaning is sour.

Yes, dat is enough. Dutch uses dat to introduce the result clause:

• zo zuur dat Tom meer water toevoegt

This works just like English so sour that Tom adds more water.

Dutch does not need any extra word there. Once you have dat, the clause continues normally, with the Dutch subordinate-clause word order.

Yes, here maar simply means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Ik houd van pittig eten
• maar deze soep is zo zuur dat Tom meer water toevoegt

So the contrast is:

• I like spicy food
• but this soup is so sour that Tom adds more water

Maar is one of the most common Dutch conjunctions, and in many cases it works just like English but.

Not necessarily. The Dutch present tense, like the English present tense, can cover several ideas:

• something happening now
• a general fact
• a situation being described in a vivid, immediate way

So Tom meer water toevoegt can mean:

• Tom adds more water
• Tom is adding more water

The exact nuance depends on context. In this sentence, it sounds like a natural present-time description of the situation.

Yes. Eten can be:

1. a verb: to eat
2. a noun: food

In Ik houd van pittig eten, it is best understood as a noun meaning spicy food.

That is why the whole phrase means:

• I like spicy food

Dutch often uses the infinitive form as a noun in this way.