daar ... mee

Splitting a Pronominal Adverb

Level 3

In Dutch, you cannot say 'met dat' (with that). Instead, you use daar ... mee. While it can stay together as daarmee, it is very often split in natural speech, with daar moving forward and mee moving toward the end of the sentence.

How It Works

The pattern daar ... mee is a 'pronominal adverb'. It serves as the emphatic or demonstrative version of er ... mee.

1. The Transformation:
In Dutch, prepositions cannot be followed by the pronouns 'het', 'dat', or 'die' when referring to inanimate objects. You must use an adverbial form:

  • Met + dat/die → Daarmee (or split: daar ... mee)
  • Met + het → Ermee (or split: er ... mee)

Note that daar ... mee replaces both singular ('with that') and plural ('with those') references for objects.

2. Usual Splitting:
While you can keep them together if no other words follow, splitting is the usual choice when adverbs (like niet), time words, or other elements are placed in the middle field. The first part (daar) stays earlier in the sentence, while the second part (mee) moves to the end, usually just before the final verbs.

3. Emphasis:
Use daar ... mee when you want to point specifically at something ('with that' or 'with those'). If you are making a neutral reference ('with it'), use er ... mee instead.

4. Important Rule:
Do not normally use this for people. If you are 'with them', you say met hen or met ze, not daarmee.

Examples (4)

  1. Daar ben ik het niet mee eens.

    I do not agree with that.

    Word by Word: There am I it not with agreed.

    Here, 'daar' is at the start for emphasis, and 'mee' is separated by the rest of the sentence.

  2. Wat wil je daar precies mee zeggen?

    What exactly do you want to say with that?

    Word by Word: What want you there exactly with say?

    The words 'precies' (exactly) sit in the gap created by the split.

  3. Ik heb daar gisteren uren mee gespeeld.

    I played with that for hours yesterday.

    Word by Word: I have there yesterday hours with played.

    In the perfectum, 'mee' stands right before the past participle 'gespeeld'.

  4. Ben je daar nu al klaar mee?

    Are you already finished with that now?

    Word by Word: Are you there now already ready with?

    Even in questions, the split occurs to accommodate time adverbs like 'nu al'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'met dat' instead of 'daar ... mee'.

    Ik ben blij met dat.
    Ik ben daar blij mee.

    A pronoun for a thing normally joins the preposition as a pronominal adverb: 'daar ... mee', not 'met dat'. 'Met dat' is only used with a stressed contrast or before a noun (met dat boek).

  • Using 'daarmee' when you mean a person.

    Different MeaningIk ga daarmee naar de bioscoop.
    Ik ga met hem naar de bioscoop.

    The wrong sentence is good Dutch, but 'daarmee' means 'with that (thing)'. To say you go with a person, use 'met' plus a personal pronoun, as in the right sentence.

  • Using 'met' instead of 'mee' in the split form.

    Daar ben ik het niet met eens.
    Daar ben ik het niet mee eens.

    When 'met' becomes part of a pronominal adverb, it must change its form to 'mee'.

How It Connects

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

daar ... meeLevel 3Splitting a Pronominal Adverb

Learn This First

To understand why and how 'daar ... mee' splits, you first need to know that Dutch uses pronominal adverbs (like 'daarmee') instead of 'met dat'. You also need to be familiar with the base preposition 'met' and the demonstrative 'daar'.

Words in This Pattern

mee