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The Word er

One word, many jobs

er as 'there' (existential)

er + zijn states that something exists.

📊 Functions of 'er'
Function Example English
existential Er is ... There is ...
locative Ik woon er I live there
quantitative Ik heb er drie I have three (of them)
prepositional Ik denk er aan I think about it
💬 Examples
Er is een probleem.
There is a problem.
📝 Existential er
Er zijn veel mensen.
There are many people.
📝 er + plural
er with numbers (quantitative)

er replaces a counted noun already mentioned.

💬 Examples
Heb je appels? Ik heb er drie.
Do you have apples? I have three (of them).
📝 er + number
Ik wil er twee.
I want two (of them).
📝 Quantitative er
er splits from a preposition

er + preposition replaces 'about it / with it'.

💬 Examples
Ik denk er niet aan.
I'm not thinking about it.
📝 er ... aan = about it
Wat doe je ermee?
What do you do with it?
📝 ermee = with it