The word er (all four uses)
A2 Het woord er 36 / 48
In short
The little word er does four different jobs: it means “there” for a place, it teams up with a preposition to replace “preposition + it/that” (erop, ermee), it acts as a dummy subject to introduce something new and indefinite (Er staat een man…), and it stands in for a counted noun (Ik heb er drie). Same spelling, four functions.
The rule
Use 1 - Locative er = “there” (place). It replaces a place already known from context. It is unstressed; for emphasis use daar (“there”) or hier (“here”).
| Question | Answer with er |
|---|---|
| Ben je in Amsterdam geweest? | Ja, ik ben er geweest. (I’ve been there.) |
| Woon je in Utrecht? | Ja, ik woon er al jaren. (I’ve lived there for years.) |
Use 2 - er + preposition (pronominal adverb). Dutch cannot say “over het” / “met het” for things. Instead it glues er to the preposition: erover (about it), ermee (with it), eraan (to/on it), erop (on it). For “things only” - never for people (for people keep preposition + object pronoun: over hem, met haar).
| preposition | + het/dat (thing) | result |
|---|---|---|
| over | over dat | erover |
| met | met dat | ermee (met -> mee) |
| aan | aan dat | eraan |
| op | op dat | erop |
| in | in dat | erin |
- For emphasis or contrast, swap er for daar (that) / hier (this): daarover, hierover.
- In questions, “what about?” splits as waar … over or joins as waarover: Waar denk je aan? / Waaraan denk je? (What are you thinking about?).
- The preposition can split off and move to the end of the clause: Ik denk er niet aan. (I’m not thinking about it.)
Use 3 - Provisional (“dummy”) subject er. (more advanced) When the real subject is indefinite (een man, veel mensen, iemand), Dutch puts er in the first slot and the real subject after the verb. It introduces something new, like English “there is / there are”.
Er staat een man voor de deur. = There’s a man at the door. Er zijn veel mensen. = There are many people.
With a definite subject you do NOT use this er: De man staat voor de deur. (not Er staat de man…).
Use 4 - er + quantity/number. (more advanced) When you count or quantify but drop the noun, er stands in for it before the number/quantity word.
Hoeveel appels heb je? - Ik heb er drie. (I have three [of them].) Heb je kinderen? - Ja, ik heb er twee. (Yes, I have two.)
Forms & patterns
The four uses summarised:
| Use | Replaces | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Locative | a place (daar) | Ik ben er geweest. | I’ve been there. |
| 2. + preposition | prep + het/dat (thing) | Ik denk eraan. | I’m thinking about it. |
| 3. Dummy subject | (introduces new/indefinite) | Er staat een man. | There’s a man. |
| 4. Quantity | counted noun | Ik heb er drie. | I have three. |
Word order when several er-elements compete. The dummy subject er and the quantity er can both appear in one clause only when the verb separates them - the dummy subject in first position, the quantity one in the middle field:
Er liggen er nog drie in de kast. (There are three more of them in the cupboard.)
When both would land in the middle field, Dutch never says er er: one er does both jobs - Liggen er nog drie in de kast? (Are there three more of them in the cupboard?)
Position of er + split preposition in a clause:
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| er … (negation/adverb) … preposition | Ik denk er vaak aan. |
| daar … preposition (emphasis) | Daar weet ik niets van. |
| question: waar … preposition | Waar wacht je op? |
Examples
| Nederlands | English |
|---|---|
| Ben je in Parijs geweest? Ja, ik ben er twee keer geweest. | Have you been to Paris? Yes, I’ve been there twice. |
| Houd je van koffie? Ja, ik houd ervan. | Do you like coffee? Yes, I like it. |
| Waar praten jullie over? | What are you talking about? |
| Ik heb een nieuwe baan. Ben je er blij mee? | I have a new job. Are you happy with it? |
| Er zit een vlieg in mijn soep. | There’s a fly in my soup. |
| Er zijn te veel auto’s in de stad. | There are too many cars in the city. |
| Hoeveel boeken heb je? Ik heb er vier. | How many books do you have? I have four. |
| Daarover wil ik niet praten. | I don’t want to talk about that. |
Common mistakes
- Ik denk over het -> Ik denk erover - a preposition + “het/dat” for a thing must become er + preposition, written as one word.
- Ik ben blij met het -> Ik ben er blij mee - “met het” becomes ermee, and the parts can split around other words.
- Ik praat ermee mijn moeder -> Ik praat met mijn moeder - never use er + preposition for people; keep met + the person.
- Er de man staat voor de deur -> De man staat voor de deur / Er staat een man voor de deur - dummy er only goes with an indefinite subject, not a definite one.
- Ik heb drie (dropping the noun) -> Ik heb er drie - when the noun is left out after a number, you must insert er.
- Waar denk je over aan? -> Waar denk je over? / Waar denk je aan? - use exactly one preposition that matches the verb (denken aan, denken over).
Tips
- Memory hook: er has FOUR hats - Place, Preposition, Provisional subject, Portion (quantity). Ask “which hat?” each time you see it.
- For use 2, learn the verb together with its fixed preposition (denken aan, houden van, wachten op) - see lesson 40. Then er just clips onto that preposition.
- Watch the merges: met -> mee (ermee, waarmee) and tot -> toe (ertoe). The others keep their shape (erop, eraan, erin).
- Quick test for dummy-subject er: if you can begin the English sentence with “There is/are…”, Dutch likely wants Er at the front.