Breakdown of Jag höll på att stuka foten, men det gjorde bara ont.
jag
I
det
it (neuter)
göra
to do, to make
men
but
bara
only, just
ont
pain / hurt
foten
the foot
hålla på att
to almost do (averted action)
stuka
to sprain
Questions & Answers about Jag höll på att stuka foten, men det gjorde bara ont.
I thought höll på att meant 'was doing'. Why does it translate to 'almost' here?
You are right that hålla på att usually creates a continuous tense, meaning 'to be in the middle of doing something'. However, when it is paired with a verb that describes a sudden, momentary, or accidental action—like stuka (to sprain), ramla (to fall), or tappa (to drop)—the meaning shifts to 'was on the verge of' or 'almost did'.
Why does the Swedish sentence use foten (the foot) instead of min fot (my foot)?
In Swedish, when the owner of a body part or item of clothing is completely obvious from the subject of the sentence (in this case, Jag), you use the definite form (foten) rather than a possessive pronoun (min fot). This sounds much more natural to native speakers.
How exactly does gjorde ont translate to 'hurt'?
The phrase göra ont literally translates to 'do pain' or 'do evil', but it is the standard Swedish expression for 'to hurt' or 'to be painful'. Because the action happened in the past, the verb göra becomes gjorde.
Why is bara placed after gjorde rather than before it?
Bara (only/just) is a sentence adverb. Since the phrase after men is an independent main clause, the V2 (verb-second) rule applies. The dummy subject det takes the first position, the conjugated verb gjorde takes the second position, and sentence adverbs like bara must be placed immediately after that verb.
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