erop, ermee, eraan: preposition + it/them

When a preposition refers back to a thing, Dutch normally puts er before that preposition: Ik wacht op de trein. → Ik wacht erop. (I am waiting for it.) The same two parts can be separated: Ik heb er lang op gewacht. (I waited for it for a long time.) Here er points back to a known object, non-human animal, idea, or situation. This construction is often called a pronominal adverb.

The verb, adjective, or expression chooses the preposition; er does not. Start with the complete fixed verb + preposition, and keep that preposition when you replace an object that refers to a thing.

1. Find the selected preposition: wachten op (to wait for), denken aan (to think about), praten over (to talk about).
2. Replace that thing with er while keeping the preposition: Ik wacht op het rapport. → Ik wacht erop. (I am waiting for it.)
3. If the two parts stand next to each other, write them as one word. Two forms change shape: met (with) becomes mee in ermee, and tot (to) becomes toe in ertoe.

For a person, normally keep the preposition plus a name or stressed object pronoun: Ik wacht op Noor. / Ik wacht op haar. (I am waiting for Noor / her.) For a thing, use er: Ik wacht op de bus. → Ik wacht erop. (I am waiting for it.) The sequence op het is therefore not always wrong. It is normal when het is the article before a noun, as in op het rapport (for the report); a bare op het meaning for it is the form to avoid.

When er and its preposition stand next to each other, they form one written word. When sentence material comes between them, write the two parts separately. For many combinations, joined and split patterns are both normal. Adding a modifier does not create a mechanical rule that every form must split. Unstressed er often comes early, so split forms are especially common.

• With no intervening material: Ik reken erop. (I am counting on it.) We praten erover. (We are talking about it.)
• With intervening material: Ik reken er niet op. (I am not counting on it.) Ik heb er lang op gewacht. (I waited for it for a long time.)
• Before a final verb group: Ik zal er morgen op letten. (I will pay attention to it tomorrow.) Ik heb er lang op moeten wachten. (I had to wait for it for a long time.)
• In a subordinate clause, the verb group stands at the end but er still precedes its partner: ... omdat ik er lang op heb gewacht. (... because I waited for it for a long time.)

In a split form, the later preposition may look stranded, but it is complete because er supplies the reference: Ik wacht er nog op. (I am still waiting for it.) Questions about things behave the same way. Both Waarop wacht je? and Waar wacht je op? mean What are you waiting for? The second is a normal split form, not a forgotten object.

The table uses all four words to refer to things, rather than literal locations. Hier, daar, and waar can also be joined to or split from their preposition: hiermee / hier ... mee, daarop / daar ... op, waarover / waar ... over. For a person, use preposition + wie: Op wie wacht je? (Who are you waiting for?) For the relative-clause pattern, see waarmee, waarover.

This lesson's er both points back to a thing and has a partner preposition. Other uses follow different tests. Er staat een fiets buiten. (There is a bicycle outside.) introduces existence. Ik heb er drie. (I have three of them.) pairs er with a quantity. Ik woon in Utrecht. → Ik woon er. (I live there.) uses locative er, so the source preposition in is not automatically retained. Compare the last example with a genuine thing-reference: Ik geloof in dat plan. → Ik geloof erin. (I believe in that plan. → I believe in it.)

• Do not translate the English phrases 'for it' or 'with it' word for word as op het or met het. Use erop or ermee. Keep het after the preposition only when it introduces a noun: op het plan, met het gereedschap.
• Do not force every modifier into one placement formula. Ik denk eraan. and Ik denk er vaak aan. are both well formed; the joined or split choice belongs to the whole clause.
• Do not use the thing-form for a person: Ik praat met hem. (I am talking to him), not Ik praat ermee with that meaning.
• Keep a retained preposition separate from a separable-verb particle. In Daar tel ik de btw bij op. (I add the VAT to that), bij partners with daar, while op belongs to the verb optellen.