er (vooruitwijzend)

Erop Dat, Ervan Dat

Level 4

In Dutch, verbs with fixed prepositions (like rekenen op) cannot connect directly to a subclause. You must use er + the preposition (e.g., erop) as a placeholder before the clause starts.

How It Works

In English, we often say 'I'm counting on you coming.' In Dutch, you cannot say *Ik reken op dat je komt. This is ungrammatical. Instead, the preposition must fuse with er to form a pronominal adverb.

1. The Placeholder Function
The combination of er + preposition (like erop, ervan, eraan) signals that more information is coming at the end of the sentence. It 'anticipates' the subclause.

2. Morphological Changes
Most prepositions stay the same, but two are irregular when combined with er:

  • met becomes mee (ermee)
  • tot becomes toe (ertoe)

3. Word Order and Splitting
In natural speech, the er and the preposition often split. The er moves to the middle field (early in the sentence), while the preposition stays later, just before the subclause or other verbs.
Example: Ik reken er niet meer op dat hij komt.

4. The People Exception
Crucially, this pattern is only for clauses or objects. If you are referring to a person, you never use 'er'. You use the preposition directly with an object pronoun.
Example: Ik reken op hem (NOT: Ik reken erop hem).

5. Nuance: Dropping the Bridge
With many adjectives of emotion (like bang voor or blij met), the 'er + preposition' bridge is often dropped in spoken Dutch. While Ik ben er bang voor dat... is correct, it is much more natural to say Ik ben bang dat...

Examples (4)

  1. Ik reken erop dat je komt.

    I am counting on [it] that you are coming.

    Word by Word: I count there-on that you come.

    The verb 'rekenen op' requires 'erop' to introduce the 'dat'-clause.

  2. Het hangt ervan af of we genoeg tijd hebben.

    It depends [on it] whether we have enough time.

    Word by Word: It hangs there-off off whether we enough time have.

    The fixed expression 'afhangen van' becomes 'ervan af' when followed by an 'of'-clause.

  3. Zij slaagde erin om de wedstrijd te winnen.

    She succeeded [in it] in winning the match.

    Word by Word: She succeeded there-in for the match to win.

    Here, 'erin' introduces a 'te'-infinitive clause because the verb is 'slagen in'.

  4. Ik twijfel er niet aan dat hij de waarheid spreekt.

    I don't doubt [it] that he is speaking the truth.

    Word by Word: I doubt there not at that he the truth speaks.

    This shows how 'er' and 'aan' split when a negation ('niet') is added.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the 'er' + preposition entirely (The English Drop).

    Ik reken op dat je komt.
    Ik reken erop dat je komt.

    In Dutch, you cannot follow a preposition directly with a 'dat'-clause. You must use the 'er' placeholder.

  • Using 'het' instead of 'er' + preposition.

    Ik twijfel het of het waar is.
    Ik twijfel eraan of het waar is.

    If a verb has a fixed preposition (like 'aan'), you must use 'er' + that preposition, not the simple object 'het'.

  • Using 'er' when referring to a person.

    Ik reken erop jou.
    Ik reken op jou.

    The anticipatory 'er' is only for clauses or things. When the object is a person, use the preposition directly with a personal pronoun.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

er (vooruitwijzend)Level 4Erop Dat, Ervan Dat

Learn This First

To understand anticipatory 'er', you first need to know which verbs take fixed prepositions. You also need to be familiar with how 'er' merges with those prepositions (forming words like 'erop' or 'ervan') and how to construct subordinate clauses using 'dat'.

Words in This Pattern