Pronominal Adverbs in Dutch

Overview

Pronominal adverbs (voornaamwoordelijke bijwoorden) are one of the most distinctly Dutch features in the language. They are combinations of er, daar, hier, or waar with a preposition: ervan, daarmee, hierin, waarover. These replace the combination of a preposition + pronoun when referring to things (not people).

In English, you might say "I'm thinking about it." In Dutch, you cannot say Ik denk over het -- instead, you say Ik denk erover. The pronoun "it" gets absorbed into the pronominal adverb erover (er + over). This applies to all things and abstract concepts, while people keep the regular preposition + pronoun structure: Ik denk over hem (I'm thinking about him).

Mastering pronominal adverbs is essential for natural Dutch. Without them, your sentences will sound awkward and even grammatically incorrect. They are everywhere in daily speech and writing.

How It Works

Formation

Pronominal adverbs combine a base word with a preposition:

Base	Meaning	Example	Translation
er	it/that (unstressed)	erover	about it
daar	that (stressed)	daarmee	with that
hier	this	hierin	in this
waar	what/which (question/relative)	waarvan	of what/of which

Common Combinations

Preposition	Er-	Daar-	Hier-	Waar-
aan	eraan	daaraan	hieraan	waaraan
bij	erbij	daarbij	hierbij	waarbij
in	erin	daarin	hierin	waarin
mee (met)	ermee	daarmee	hiermee	waarmee
naar	ernaar	daarnaar	hiernaar	waarnaar
om	erom	daarom	hierom	waarom
op	erop	daarop	hierop	waarop
over	erover	daarover	hierover	waarover
uit	eruit	daaruit	hieruit	waaruit
van	ervan	daarvan	hiervan	waarvan
voor	ervoor	daarvoor	hiervoor	waarvoor

Note: met becomes mee in pronominal adverbs: ermee, not ermet.

When to Use Pronominal Adverbs

For things and abstract concepts: use pronominal adverbs.

• Ik denk erover. (I'm thinking about it.)
• Wat weet je ervan? (What do you know about it?)

For people: use preposition + pronoun.

• Ik denk over hem. (I'm thinking about him.)
• Ik praat met haar. (I'm talking with her.)

Waar- Forms for Questions

Waar- + preposition forms questions about things:

• Waar denk je aan? (What are you thinking about?)
• Waar kijk je naar? (What are you looking at?)
• Waarmee kan ik je helpen? (How can I help you? / With what can I help you?)

Waar- Forms in Relative Clauses

Waar- + preposition also creates relative pronouns for things:

• Het boek waarover ik sprak... (The book I spoke about...)
• De stad waarin ik woon... (The city in which I live...)
• Het probleem waarmee we te maken hebben... (The problem we're dealing with...)

Splitting Pronominal Adverbs

In spoken and written Dutch, er- forms are often split, with other words between er and the preposition:

• Ik denk er niet over. (I'm not thinking about it.) -- split by niet
• Ik heb er lang over nagedacht. (I thought about it for a long time.)
• Daar weet ik niets van. (I know nothing about that.)

Daar-, hier-, and waar- forms can also be split but tend to stay together more often:

• Waar heb je het over? (What are you talking about?) -- split
• Waarover heb je het? -- also correct, slightly more formal

Examples in Context

Dutch	English	Note
Waar denk je aan? Ik denk eraan.	What are you thinking about? I'm thinking about it.	Question + answer
Ik hou daarvan.	I like that.	Daar + van
Hiermee ben ik het eens.	I agree with this.	Hier + mee
Het boek waarover ik sprak...	The book I spoke about...	Relative clause
Ik kijk ernaar uit.	I'm looking forward to it.	Er + naar (split)
Waar gaat het over?	What is it about?	Question, split
Ze heeft er lang over nagedacht.	She thought about it for a long time.	Split with adverb
Daar heb ik geen zin in.	I don't feel like that.	Daar + in
Ik weet er niets van.	I know nothing about it.	Split with niets
Het huis waarin wij wonen is oud.	The house we live in is old.	Relative clause
Daar ben ik het niet mee eens.	I don't agree with that.	Daar + mee (split)
Waar ben je bang voor?	What are you afraid of?	Question, split

Common Mistakes

Using preposition + het for things

• Wrong: Ik denk over het.
• Right: Ik denk erover. or Ik denk er over na.
• Why: Dutch does not allow preposition + het for things. You must use the pronominal adverb form.

Using pronominal adverbs for people

• Wrong: Ik denk erover. (when meaning "I'm thinking about him/her")
• Right: Ik denk over hem/haar.
• Why: Pronominal adverbs are only for things and abstract concepts. People require preposition + personal pronoun.

Forgetting to split er-forms

• Wrong: Ik denk erover niet. (unnatural word order)
• Right: Ik denk er niet over.
• Why: In practice, er- forms are commonly split by adverbs like niet, ook, nog, wel. Not splitting can sound unnatural.

Using met instead of mee

• Wrong: ermet, daarmet
• Right: ermee, daarmee
• Why: In pronominal adverbs, met always becomes mee.

Confusing waarom (why) with waar...om

• Wrong: Waar lach je om? when meaning "Why are you laughing?"
• Right: Both Waarom lach je? and Waar lach je om? are correct, but they can differ in nuance.
• Why: Waarom (as one word) means "why." Waar...om (split) can mean "what...about" -- though in practice they overlap. Be aware of the potential ambiguity.

Usage Notes

Pronominal adverbs are used throughout the Dutch-speaking world with no significant regional differences. However, in spoken Dutch in the Netherlands, splitting is more common and sounds more natural. In formal writing, the unsplit forms (erover, daarvan) are preferred.

In Belgian Dutch, the same system applies, though Belgian speakers may sometimes use preposition + demonstrative (over dat) in casual speech where Netherlands speakers would use daarover. This is informal and not considered standard.

The er- forms are by far the most common in everyday speech. Daar- adds emphasis or distance, while hier- indicates proximity.

Practice Tips

• Pick five Dutch verbs that take prepositions (denken aan, wachten op, houden van, praten over, kijken naar) and practice forming questions with waar- and answers with er-: Waar denk je aan? Ik denk eraan.
• Read a Dutch article and highlight every pronominal adverb you find. Note whether it is split or unsplit and which base (er/daar/hier/waar) is used.
• In conversation, force yourself to use pronominal adverbs instead of falling back on preposition + pronoun structures borrowed from English.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Er (locative) -- understanding the basic uses of er prepares you for its role in pronominal adverbs