trots op, behoefte aan: prepositions after adjectives and nouns

Dutch adjectives and nouns can select fixed prepositions just as verbs do: trots op haar werk (proud of her work) and behoefte aan rust (a need for rest). The preposition belongs to the complete Dutch expression, so learn trots op and behoefte aan as units instead of predicting them from English.

In these combinations, the adjective or noun determines which preposition introduces its complement. The preposition contributes little independent spatial meaning, and another plausible-looking preposition usually cannot replace it. Compare bang voor de uitslag (afraid of the result), benieuwd naar de uitslag (curious about the result), and tevreden met de uitslag (satisfied with the result). The same noun phrase follows three different prepositions because the governing words differ.

This is lexical selection, just like fixed verb + preposition. The useful general rule is that a fixed complement needs a preposition; the particular choice still has to be learned with the adjective or noun.

Learn the adjective together with a short question or model sentence. That records both its meaning and its fixed preposition: Waar ben je bang voor? and Waar ben je benieuwd naar?

Some adjectives allow more than one preposition with a difference in perspective or established usage. For example, Dutch has both tevreden met and tevreden over. Do not turn a productive list into a claim that every adjective has exactly one possible partner; check a dictionary when a familiar combination has a second form.

A noun complement normally follows the noun: het recht op privacy, kritiek op het beleid. Articles and adjectives can appear before the noun without changing its selected preposition: een groot gebrek aan personeel.

The preposition belongs to the noun-complement relationship, not automatically to every nearby verb. In De commissie kreeg kritiek op haar besluit, op haar besluit completes kritiek. In De commissie reageerde op haar besluit, op haar besluit belongs to the verb reageren. The surface sequence may look similar, but the selecting word is different.

Many abstract nouns occur both as a noun phrase and in a fixed predicate. The same complement preposition often remains visible. Learn the related forms together, but also learn the support verb because it is not predictable from the noun alone.

Do not delete the preposition when you change the sentence shape: U hebt recht op hulp, not U hebt recht hulp. Conversely, do not add a second preposition before the complement: behoefte aan hulp, not behoefte voor aan hulp.

When the complement is a person, keep the preposition before a personal pronoun: Ik ben trots op haar and Hij is afhankelijk van hen. When it is a thing, plan, or situation already mentioned, Dutch normally replaces it with er + preposition. The two parts may be adjacent or split.

The er + preposition page covers joining and splitting these forms. In a relative clause about a thing, use waar + preposition: de regeling waarop zij recht hebben. For a person, use preposition + wie: de collega op wie zij trots is. See relative clauses with a preposition.

This page teaches noun-phrase complements: trots op haar werk and behoefte aan rust. If the complement is a whole clause, Dutch may need a forward-pointing form such as Ik ben er trots op dat zij is geslaagd. Required and optional er + preposition + clause frames belong to er + preposition before a clause; do not infer them from the short lists here.

• Record the governing word and preposition together: benieuwd naar, not just benieuwd.
• Add one noun-phrase example: benieuwd naar de uitslag.
• Add the question form: Waar ben je benieuwd naar? This exposes the same preposition.
• For a noun, record a related predicate when useful: recht op and recht hebben op.
• Treat a second established preposition as variation to check, not as proof that any preposition works.

• Use the preposition stored with the adjective or noun, even when English chooses another one.
• Keep the same preposition when the noun becomes part of a larger predicate such as recht hebben op.
• Check a dictionary when you have not learned the complete combination; meaning alone does not reliably predict the preposition.

• Do not translate the English preposition word for word: Dutch has trots op, not a combination chosen from English “of”.
• Do not drop the complement preposition: write recht op ondersteuning and gebrek aan personeel.
• Do not use a thing pronoun after the preposition when a pronominal adverb is needed: normally Ik ben er trots op, not Ik ben trots op het.
• Do not use er + preposition for a person: write Ik ben trots op haar.
• Do not use this noun-phrase list to guess whether erop dat is required before a clause; check the clause frame separately.

Compare fixed verb + preposition, prepositional er, and core preposition meanings. The same prepositions also appear in relative clauses.