Partitive *er* in Dutch

In Brief

Dutch normally uses er when a number or quantity remains but the noun it refers to is left out: Ik heb vijf boeken becomes Ik heb er vijf (“I have five of them”). English can simply say “I have five,” but Dutch usually cannot omit both the noun and er. Put er before the number or quantity: We hebben er nog een paar.

Overview

Partitive er lets you avoid repeating a noun that is already clear. A noun is a word for a person, thing, place, or idea, such as boek (“book”) or koffie (“coffee”). If someone asks Hoeveel boeken heb je?, you could answer Ik heb vijf boeken, but repeating boeken adds no useful information. Dutch instead says Ik heb er vijf.

The word partitive means that the expression picks out an amount or a number from a larger set or substance: five of the books, some of the cookies, or a little of the coffee. In these sentences, er carries the missing “of them” or “of it” idea. It can refer to things, people, and substances, provided the intended noun is clear from the conversation.

This use is introduced around A2, after the basic introductory er in sentences such as Er is een probleem. The two uses look identical but do different jobs. Introductory er helps present something new; partitive er stands for a previously understood noun after a quantity. They can even occur together: Er zijn er nog drie — “There are still three of them.”

How It Works

The beginner rule

Start with a phrase containing a quantity and a noun:

Full phrase	With the noun omitted	Meaning
vijf boeken	er vijf	five of them
twee kaartjes	er twee	two of them
een paar koekjes	er een paar	a few of them
veel koffie	er veel	a lot of it
geen vragen	er geen	none / no questions

The basic transformation is:

quantity + noun → er + quantity

• Ik koop twee kaartjes. — “I’m buying two tickets.”
• Ik koop er twee. — “I’m buying two (of them).”

Use this pattern when three conditions are met:

1. A number or quantity is expressed.
2. The noun after that quantity is not repeated.
3. The listener can identify that noun from the context.

The quantity can be an exact number, such as één, twee, or twintig, or a quantity word:

Dutch quantity	English	Example
één, twee, drie …	one, two, three …	Ik neem er twee.
veel	many / much / a lot	We hebben er veel.
weinig	few / little	Zij gebruikt er weinig.
een paar	a few / a couple	Er liggen er een paar.
genoeg	enough	Hebben we er genoeg?
geen	none / no	Ik heb er geen.
hoeveel	how many / how much	Hoeveel wil je er?

Do not add er when the noun remains

Partitive er replaces the understood noun phrase; it does not normally sit beside the noun it replaces.

• Ik heb drie planten. — “I have three plants.”
• Ik heb er drie. — “I have three of them.”
• Not: Ik heb er drie planten if er is intended to mean “of them.”

Be careful: a sentence can contain a different kind of er while the noun is still present. In Er staan drie planten in de kamer, er is introductory, not partitive. It presents “three plants” as new information.

Er is not optional in the short answer

English allows “How many do you have?” — “I have three.” Dutch normally requires er:

• Hoeveel heb je er? — “How many do you have?”
• Ik heb er drie. — “I have three.”

Without er, Ik heb drie sounds incomplete in ordinary standard Dutch because drie no longer has a noun to accompany it. English-speaking learners often make precisely this mistake because the English sentence is complete without “of them.”

Position in the sentence

Unstressed er usually appears in the middle of the clause, before the quantity. In a simple main clause it follows the finite verb (the verb carrying tense) unless another short pronoun affects the order.

Sentence type	Pattern	Example
Statement	subject + verb + er + quantity	Ik heb er vier.
Yes/no question	verb + subject + er + quantity	Wil je er twee?
Question with hoeveel	hoeveel + verb + subject + er	Hoeveel heb je er?
Inversion	first element + verb + subject + er + quantity	Morgen koop ik er drie.
Subordinate clause	conjunction + subject + er + quantity + verb(s)	… omdat ik er twee nodig heb.
Infinitive construction	subject + verb + er + quantity + infinitive	Ik wil er twee bestellen.

A number can receive contrastive stress, but er itself is normally unstressed: Ik wil er TWEE, niet drie. If you need to point emphatically to a particular set — “two of those” — Dutch often uses a fuller expression such as twee daarvan instead.

Countable nouns and substances

With countable nouns, er can mean “of them”:

• Heb je pennen? Ik heb er twee. — “Do you have pens? I have two.”
• Hoeveel studenten komen? Er komen er twaalf. — “How many students are coming? Twelve are coming.”

It also works with mass nouns (substances not normally counted as separate items), where English would use “of it” or no extra words:

• Hoeveel suiker wil je? Ik wil er weinig. — “How much sugar do you want? I want only a little.”
• Drink je veel koffie? Ja, ik drink er veel. — “Do you drink much coffee? Yes, I drink a lot.”

Context must make the reference clear. Starting a conversation with Ik heb er drie leaves the listener wondering: three what?

Two instances of er

Dutch permits two instances of er when they have separate functions:

• Er zijn er nog een paar. — “There are still a few left.”
• Er staan er drie op tafel. — “There are three of them on the table.”

The first er is introductory: it allows the sentence to present what exists or is located somewhere. The second is partitive: it replaces the noun after the quantity. This can look odd on the page, but it is grammatical and common. Do not delete the second one merely because the first is already present; each has its own job.

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Hoeveel boeken heb je? Ik heb er vijf.	How many books do you have? I have five.	Exact number
Zijn er nog koekjes? Er zijn er nog een paar.	Are there any cookies left? There are still a few.	Introductory and partitive er together
Ik wil er twee, alstublieft.	I’d like two, please.	Natural in a shop when the item is clear
Hoeveel kinderen hebben zij? Zij hebben er drie.	How many children do they have? They have three.	Refers to people
We hebben zes stoelen nodig, maar we hebben er maar vier.	We need six chairs, but we only have four.	maar limits the quantity
Deze appels zijn lekker. Neem er gerust een paar.	These apples are tasty. Feel free to take a few.	Informal invitation
Hebben we genoeg glazen? Nee, we hebben er niet genoeg.	Do we have enough glasses? No, we don’t have enough.	Negated genoeg
Ik heb geen vragen. Echt niet? Ik heb er drie.	I have no questions. Really? I have three.	The reference comes from the previous speaker
Hoeveel melk drink je per dag? Ik drink er niet veel.	How much milk do you drink per day? I don’t drink much.	Mass noun
Er kwamen er uiteindelijk maar acht.	In the end, only eight of them came.	Two functions of er
De blauwe mokken zijn uitverkocht, maar we hebben er nog twee in het groen.	The blue mugs are sold out, but we still have two in green.	Additional description after the quantity
Ik heb tien formulieren gekregen en er al zeven ingevuld.	I received ten forms and have already filled in seven of them.	er in a coordinated clause
Als je tomaten nodig hebt, kan ik er wat meenemen.	If you need tomatoes, I can bring some.	wat means an unspecified amount
Van die serie heb ik er pas twee gezien.	I have only seen two episodes of that series so far.	The topic is made explicit with van die serie

Common Mistakes

Leaving out er because English leaves out “of them”

• Wrong: Hoeveel boeken heb je? Ik heb vijf.
• Right: Hoeveel boeken heb je? Ik heb er vijf.
• Why: When boeken is understood but omitted, standard Dutch uses partitive er before the number.

Keeping both partitive er and the repeated noun

• Wrong: Ik koop er twee kaartjes.
• Right: Ik koop twee kaartjes. / Ik koop er twee.
• Why: Choose the full noun phrase or replace its noun with er. Do not use partitive er as an extra translation of English “of.”

Putting er after the number

• Wrong: Ik heb drie er.
• Right: Ik heb er drie.
• Why: The normal Dutch order is er + quantity, even though English says “three of them.”

Confusing the two instances in an existential sentence

• Wrong: Zijn nog koekjes? Ja, er zijn een paar.
• Right: Zijn er nog koekjes? Ja, er zijn er een paar.
• Why: In the answer, the first er is introductory and the second replaces koekjes. In careful standard Dutch both functions are represented.

Using er with no recoverable reference

• Unclear: Ik wil er twee. (said without pointing or prior context)
• Clear: Welke broodjes wil je? Ik wil er twee met kaas.
• Why: Partitive er avoids repetition; it cannot tell the listener what the missing noun is. The noun must already be known from words or the situation.

Treating every er as partitive

• Mistaken analysis: In Er ligt een brief op tafel, er means “of it.”
• Correct analysis: Here er introduces the existence or location of een brief.
• Why: Look for a quantity whose noun has been omitted. If there is no such quantity, er is serving another function.

Usage Notes

Partitive er is normal in both speech and writing; it is not especially formal. In conversation it is extremely useful in shops, cafés, planning, and any exchange involving quantities: Hoeveel wilt u er? — Doe er maar zes. The polite u changes the form of address, not the use of er.

Words such as nog, maar, al, pas, and niet frequently occur around the construction. They refine the quantity:

• Ik heb er nog twee. — I have two left / two more.
• Ik heb er maar twee. — I have only two.
• Ik heb er al twee. — I already have two.
• Ik heb er pas twee gelezen. — I have read only two so far.
• Ik heb er niet genoeg. — I do not have enough.

Do not try to assign one fixed English word to er. Depending on context, an English translation may contain “of them,” “of it,” “ones,” or nothing at all. The stable Dutch idea is grammatical: a noun understood after a quantity has been left unspoken.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every use below at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will encounter later.

An adjective can remain

When an adjective distinguishes the omitted items, it may remain after the number. It generally takes -e because it functions as a noun-like description of the missing item:

• Ik heb drie witte borden en twee blauwe. — “I have three white plates and two blue ones.”
• Heeft u ook grote koffers? Ja, we hebben er twee grote. — “Do you also have large suitcases? Yes, we have two large ones.”

The exact wording speakers choose can vary with sentence structure, and repeating the noun is often the clearest option. The central point is that er still refers back to the omitted set while the adjective tells you which members are meant.

Er versus daarvan

Partitive er is weak and unstressed. It refers back economically when the set is already understood. Daarvan (“of that/of those”) is fuller and can be stressed or contrast one set with another.

• Ik heb er twee gelezen. — “I’ve read two of them.”
• Ik heb daarvan twee hoofdstukken gelezen. — “I’ve read two chapters of that.”
• Van deze boeken heb ik er twee gelezen. — “Of these books, I’ve read two.”

These are not always interchangeable word for word. Use er + quantity for the ordinary omitted-noun pattern; use a full van-phrase or daarvan when you need to identify or contrast the source set explicitly.

Partitive er inside longer verb groups

The same principle survives in perfect tenses, modal constructions, and subordinate clauses. Er normally stays in the middle field, while infinitives and past participles (verb forms such as gekocht in “have bought”) move toward the end:

• Ik heb er gisteren drie gekocht. — “I bought three of them yesterday.”
• Je zou er minstens twee moeten meenemen. — “You should take at least two.”
• Ze zegt dat ze er geen heeft gevonden. — “She says that she found none.”

Later study of the complete Dutch er system will bring together partitive er, place er, introductory er, and combinations with prepositions. For now, identify the quantity first: that is the best clue that you are dealing with the partitive use.

Practice Tips

1. Turn full phrases into short answers. Write ten phrases such as vier glazen, veel tijd, and geen bananen. Put each in a full sentence, then omit the noun: We hebben vier glazen → We hebben er vier.
2. Practise question-and-answer pairs aloud. Alternate Hoeveel … heb je? with Ik heb er …. Keep er unstressed and stress the important number: Ik heb er DRIE.
3. Label every er you meet. Ask whether it introduces something, refers to a place, or replaces a noun after a quantity. In Er liggen er vijf, label both instances separately rather than treating them as a mysterious fixed phrase.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Er (Introductory) — introduces basic er in existence and presentation sentences.
• Next step: Complete Er System — compares all major functions of er and shows how they combine.