How to use Er in Dutch: the four main uses explained

The Dutch word er is small, common and surprisingly challenging. You will encounter it in sentences such as:

Er staat iemand voor de deur.
There is someone at the door.

Ik woon er al vijf jaar.
I have lived there for five years.

Heb je huisdieren? Ik heb er twee.
Do you have any pets? I have two.

We hebben er gisteren over gepraat.
We talked about it yesterday.

In English, er can sometimes be translated as there, of them or about it. In other sentences, there is no direct English translation. The reason is simple: er does not have one fixed meaning. It has four main grammatical uses:

1. It can refer to a place.
2. It can introduce new information.
3. It can replace a noun used with a number or quantity.
4. It can combine with a preposition.

Understanding these four patterns is more useful than trying to find one English translation for every occurrence of er.

The four uses of er at a glance

The four uses sometimes overlap, but this overview provides a helpful introduction for intermediate learners and a useful refresher for more advanced students.

1. Er referring to a place

The first type of er refers to a place that has already been mentioned or is clear from the context.

Ben je weleens in Rotterdam geweest?
Have you ever been to Rotterdam?

Ja, ik ben er vorig jaar geweest.
Yes, I was there last year.

In the answer, er refers to Rotterdam.

Here are some more examples:

Mijn broer woont in Brussel. Ik ga er vaak op bezoek.
My brother lives in Brussels. I often visit him there.

We waren gisteren in een nieuw restaurant. We hebben er heerlijk gegeten.
We were in a new restaurant yesterday. We had a wonderful meal there.

Ik woon al tien jaar in Wenen. Mijn kinderen gaan er ook naar school.
I have been living in Vienna for ten years. My children also go to school there.

This use is called locative er, from the word location. The place is usually mentioned in the previous sentence, although it can also be obvious from the situation.

What is the difference between er and daar?

Both er and daar can refer to a place, but er is normally unstressed. It refers back to the place without drawing special attention to it.

Ik heb een paar jaar in Leiden gewoond. Ik heb er ook gestudeerd.
I lived in Leiden for a few years. I also studied there.

Use daar when you point to a place, contrast it with another place or give it special emphasis.

Waar moet ik de doos neerzetten? Zet hem daar neer.
Where should I put the box? Put it there.

Ik heb dáár gewoond, niet in Amsterdam.
I lived there, not in Amsterdam.

In short:

• er refers to a place neutrally;
• daar points to or emphasises a place.

Compare:

Ik werk er drie dagen per week.
I work there three days a week.

Ik werk daar, in dat gebouw aan de overkant.
I work there, in that building across the street.

2. Er introducing new information

The second type of er introduces a person, thing or situation that is new in the conversation.

Er staat een fiets voor de deur.
There is a bicycle in front of the door.

Er zijn nog twee plaatsen vrij.
There are still two places available.

Er kwam gisteren een nieuwe student naar de les.
A new student came to class yesterday.

The real grammatical subjects in these sentences are:

• een fiets
• twee plaatsen
• een nieuwe student

These subjects contain new information. The word er helps introduce them. This is known as presentative er.

It is similar to there in English sentences such as There is a problem and There are three people waiting. However, Dutch uses this construction in a wider range of sentences.

Common verbs used with presentative er

You will often see presentative er with zijn:

Er is een probleem met de computer.
There is a problem with the computer.

Er zijn veel mensen op straat.
There are many people in the street.

It also occurs frequently with the position verbs staan, liggen and zitten:

Er staat een kop koffie op tafel.
There is a cup of coffee on the table.

Er liggen drie brieven voor je klaar.
There are three letters waiting for you.

Er zit nog soep in de pan.
There is still some soup in the pan.

Other verbs are possible too:

Er gebeurt hier nooit iets.
Nothing ever happens here.

Er begint over tien minuten een nieuwe film.
A new film starts in ten minutes.

Er woont een Nederlands gezin naast ons.
A Dutch family lives next door to us.

Word order with presentative er

When er comes first, the basic order is:

Er + verb + subject

For example:

Er komt morgen een nieuwe collega.
A new colleague is coming tomorrow.

Another part of the sentence can also come first. Er then normally appears after the conjugated verb:

Morgen komt er een nieuwe collega.
A new colleague is coming tomorrow.

Volgende week beginnen er twee nieuwe cursussen.
Two new courses begin next week.

Vandaag is er een belangrijke vergadering.
There is an important meeting today.

The conjugated verb remains in the second position, as it normally does in a Dutch main clause.

Is er always necessary?

Presentative er is not always compulsory. Its use depends partly on the verb, the information structure and the first part of the sentence.

After a place phrase, for example, Dutch often leaves er out:

Op tafel ligt nog een brief.
There is still a letter on the table.

In de koelkast staat nog een fles melk.
There is still a bottle of milk in the refrigerator.

Sentences with er are also possible in these contexts:

Op tafel ligt er nog een brief.
There is still a letter on the table.

This pattern is more common in Belgium than in much of the Netherlands. Intermediate learners do not need to master all this variation immediately. The most useful patterns to remember are:

Er ligt een brief op tafel.
There is a letter on the table.

and:

Op tafel ligt een brief.
There is a letter on the table.

Questions with presentative er

Presentative er is common in questions:

Is er nog koffie?
Is there any coffee left?

Zijn er vragen?
Are there any questions?

Wat is er gebeurd?
What happened?

Wie woont er naast je?
Who lives next door to you?

Wanneer is er weer een markt?
When will there be another market?

In questions beginning with a question word, er normally follows the conjugated verb.

Er in passive sentences

Presentative er also appears in passive sentences without an expressed subject.

Er wordt hier Nederlands gesproken.
Dutch is spoken here.

Er is gisteren veel gedanst.
There was a lot of dancing yesterday.

Er mag in dit gebouw niet gerookt worden.
Smoking is not allowed in this building.

Tijdens de vergadering werd er lang over het voorstel gesproken.
The proposal was discussed at length during the meeting.

The word er does not refer to a place in these examples. It helps form a natural sentence when no ordinary subject is stated.

3. Er with numbers and quantities

The third use appears when a countable noun is not repeated after a number or quantity.

Imagine that someone asks:

Heb je kinderen?
Do you have children?

You can answer:

Ja, ik heb er twee.
Yes, I have two.

The word er refers back to kinderen. The full meaning is:

Ik heb twee kinderen.
I have two children.

This is called quantitative er because it is connected to a number or quantity.

Using er with a number

Hoeveel broers heb je? Ik heb er één.
How many brothers do you have? I have one.

Ik heb vijf appels gekocht, maar ik heb er al twee opgegeten.
I bought five apples, but I have already eaten two of them.

We hebben zes oefeningen gemaakt. Morgen maken we er nog vier.
We completed six exercises. Tomorrow we will do another four.

Hoeveel kaartjes wil je? Ik wil er drie.
How many tickets do you want? I want three.

English may use one, three, four more or of them. In a complete Dutch sentence, er normally replaces the omitted noun.

Using er with other quantities

Quantitative er is not limited to exact numbers. It also occurs with expressions with:

• veel (many)
• weinig (few)
• genoeg (enough)
• een paar (a few)
• geen (none)
• een heleboel (a lot)

Examples:

Hebben we genoeg stoelen? Ja, we hebben er genoeg.
Do we have enough chairs? Yes, we have enough.

Ik wilde aardbeien kopen, maar de winkel had er geen.
I wanted to buy strawberries, but the shop did not have any.

Ze heeft veel boeken, maar ze heeft er maar weinig gelezen.
She has many books, but she has read only a few of them.

Heb je vragen? Ik heb er nog een paar.
Do you have any questions? I still have a few.

We hebben er een heleboel verkocht.
We sold a lot of them.

Can you leave er out?

In a very short answer, you can simply give the number:

Hoeveel kaartjes wil je? Drie.
How many tickets do you want? Three.

In a complete sentence, however, Dutch normally requires er:

Ik wil er drie.
I want three.

Not:

*Ik wil drie.

The last sentence may be understandable in a very specific context, but it is not the normal construction learners should use.

Two types of er in one sentence

A sentence can contain er twice when the two occurrences have different functions.

Ik heb vijf flessen water gekocht. Er staan er nog drie in de koelkast.
I bought five bottles of water. There are still three of them in the refrigerator.

The first er introduces the new information. It is presentative.

The second er replaces flessen water before the quantity drie. It is quantitative.

Sometimes the two functions are expressed by a single er. However, you do not need to analyse every ambiguous case when speaking. The important point is that er can perform more than one grammatical job in the same sentence.

4. Er combined with a preposition

The fourth use is particularly important at B1 / intermediate level.

Many Dutch verbs, adjectives and expressions are used with a fixed preposition:

• wachten op (to wait for)
• denken aan (to think about)
• praten over (to talk about)
• tevreden zijn met (to be satisfied with)
• bang zijn voor (to be afraid of)
• houden van (to like or love)

When the preposition refers to a thing, idea or situation that has already been mentioned, Dutch often combines it with er.

From op iets to erop

Ik wacht op de trein.
I am waiting for the train.

When you do not repeat de trein, you can say:

Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.

Here, erop replaces op de trein.

From over iets to erover

We praten over het probleem.
We are talking about the problem.

We praten erover.
We are talking about it.

From met iets to ermee

Ben je tevreden met het resultaat?
Are you satisfied with the result?

Ja, ik ben ermee tevreden.
Yes, I am satisfied with it.

Notice that met changes to mee in combinations such as ermee, hiermee and daarmee.

More common examples

Denk je vaak aan je werk? Ja, ik denk er vaak aan.
Do you often think about your work? Yes, I often think about it.

Hij droomt van een reis naar Japan. Hij droomt er al jaren van.
He dreams of a trip to Japan. He has been dreaming about it for years.

Ze is bang voor het examen. Ze is er erg bang voor.
She is afraid of the exam. She is very afraid of it.

We kijken uit naar de vakantie. We kijken ernaar uit.
We are looking forward to the holiday. We are looking forward to it.

Ik heb op je bericht gereageerd. Ik heb er gisteren op gereageerd.
I responded to your message. I responded to it yesterday.

Things vs. people: a useful rule

As a reliable standard-language rule, use er + preposition for things, ideas and situations.

Ik wacht op de bus. Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for the bus. I am waiting for it.

When the preposition refers to a person, use a personal pronoun:

Ik wacht op Peter. Ik wacht op hem.
I am waiting for Peter. I am waiting for him.

Ik werk met Anna. Ik werk met haar.
I work with Anna. I work with her.

We praten over onze buurman. We praten over hem.
We are talking about our neighbour. We are talking about him.

Don’t say:

*Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.

when you mean that you are waiting for a person.

Should you write erop or er … op?

When er and the preposition stand directly next to each other and form one unit, write them as one word:

• eraan
• erop
• erover
• ervoor
• ervan
• ermee
• erin
• eruit
• ernaar

Examples:

Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.

We praten erover.
We are talking about it.

Zij is ermee akkoord.
She agrees with it.

Other words can come between er and the preposition. In that case, the two parts are written separately:

Ik wacht er al twintig minuten op.
I have been waiting for it for twenty minutes.

We hebben er gisteren lang over gepraat.
We talked about it at length yesterday.

Zij is er helemaal niet mee akkoord.
She does not agree with it at all.

Ik denk er nog vaak aan.
I still think about it often.

Split forms are extremely common in everyday Dutch. In some sentences, splitting the combination is much more natural than keeping the two parts together.

Compare:

Hij heeft er erg onder geleden.
He suffered greatly because of it.

The following word order is not natural and incorrect:

*Hij heeft eronder erg geleden.

How to recognise the four uses of er

When you encounter er, ask the following questions.

Does er refer to a place?

Ik ben er gisteren geweest.
I was there yesterday.

This is locative er.

Does er introduce a new person or thing?

Er staat iemand buiten.
There is someone outside.

This is presentative er.

Is there a number or quantity without a repeated countable noun?

Ik heb er drie.
I have three.

This is quantitative er.

Does er belong to a preposition?

Ik denk er vaak aan.
I often think about it.

This is prepositional er.

In some sentences, more than one interpretation is possible. You do not need to resolve every ambiguous example in order to use er correctly.

Common mistakes with er

Mistake 1: forgetting er before a quantity

*Heb je zussen? Ik heb twee.

Better:

Heb je zussen? Ik heb er twee.
Do you have sisters? I have two.

Mistake 2: using a personal pronoun after a preposition when referring to a thing

*Ik denk aan het.

Better:

Ik denk eraan.
I am thinking about it.

Mistake 3: using er + preposition for a person

*Ik wacht erop.
I am waiting for it.

When you mean a person:

Ik wacht op hem / haar.
I am waiting for him / her.

Mistake 4: always keeping er and the preposition together

*Ik heb erop gisteren gereageerd.

Better:

Ik heb er gisteren op gereageerd.
I responded to it yesterday.

Summary (TL;DR)

The Dutch word er has four main uses:

Ik woon er.
I live there.

It refers to a place.

Er staat iemand buiten.
There is someone outside.

It introduces a new person or thing.

Ik heb er twee.
I have two.

It replaces a countable noun used with a number or quantity.

Ik denk eraan.
I am thinking about it.

It combines with a preposition.

Do not try to translate every occurrence of er in the same way. First determine what it does in the sentence. Does it refer to a place, introduce new information, replace a noun after a quantity or combine with a preposition?

Once you recognise those four patterns, er becomes considerably easier to understand and to use.

Free Download: the four uses of er at a glance.

Would you like to keep a short, practical overview close at hand? Download the free one-page cheat sheet from the Free Downloads page for a clear summary and useful examples.

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