Breakdown of Mein Ellbogen tut weh.
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
wehtun
to hurt
der Ellbogen
the elbow
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Questions & Answers about Mein Ellbogen tut weh.
Why is it mein and not meinen?
Because Ellbogen is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.
- der Ellbogen = the elbow
- nominative masculine singular with mein → mein Ellbogen
So:
- Mein Ellbogen tut weh. = correct
- Meinen Ellbogen tut weh. = incorrect here
You would use meinen if Ellbogen were in the accusative, for example:
- Ich bewege meinen Ellbogen. = I move my elbow.
What exactly does tut weh mean?
Tut weh comes from the verb wehtun, which means to hurt or to be painful.
In this sentence:
- tun is the conjugated part
- weh is the separated second part
So:
- wehtun = infinitive
- tut weh = hurts / is hurting
This is a very common everyday way to talk about pain in German.
Why is weh at the end of the sentence?