Questions & Answers about De soep deed pijn aan mijn tong.
Why does Dutch use deed pijn here? Why not just a verb like hurt?
Dutch often expresses to hurt with the phrase pijn doen or pijn hebben rather than with a single everyday verb that works exactly like English to hurt.
So:
- De soep deed pijn aan mijn tong = The soup hurt my tongue
- literally: The soup did pain to my tongue
This sounds strange in English, but it is a normal Dutch way to express that something caused pain.
A single verb like pijnden exists only in very limited or old-fashioned/literary use, so learners should not try to use it as the normal equivalent of hurt.
Why is it deed?
Deed is the past tense of doen.
- doen = to do
- deed = did
In the expression pijn doen, the verb doen changes normally:
- present: De soep doet pijn aan mijn tong
- past: De soep deed pijn aan mijn tong
So deed is used because the sentence is in the past.
What exactly does aan mijn tong mean, and why is aan used?