{"id":6648,"date":"2020-02-17T11:35:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T10:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nllanguagep-bali.savviihq.com\/?p=6648"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:23:20","slug":"whats-up-with-the-word-er","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagepartners.nl\/en\/blog\/dutch-as-a-second-language\/whats-up-with-the-word-er\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s up with \u2018er\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cToday we\u2019re going to talk about everyone\u2019s favourite word.\u201d If I start my lesson with these words, most students know what\u2019s coming. \u201cDoes anyone happen to know what that word is?\u201d The response to this question is usually nervous shuffling, eye-rolling and deep sighs, but eventually someone always says \u201cer…\u201d. Exactly, \u2018er<\/strong>\u2019. But what makes this little word so troublesome?<\/p>\n

Almost inaudible<\/h2>\n

To start with, you can barely hear the word \u2018er\u2019 in a sentence. Try saying the Dutch title of this blog post [Wat is er toch met \u2018er\u2019?<\/em>] out loud. How does it sound? You probably say \u201cWat issur<\/em>…\u201d and herein lies the first \u2018danger\u2019.<\/p>\n

To learn something, you first have to focus your attention on it. But how do you do that when a word is almost inaudible? This inconspicuousness also creates the erroneous impression that the word \u2018er\u2019 is unimportant, and this brings us the the second obstacle.<\/p>\n

\u2018Er\u2019 is often avoided<\/h2>\n

Students avoid \u2018er\u2019. In written texts they often miss the word out because they think that is has no meaning, and they don\u2019t use it themselves because they don\u2019t know what they\u2019re supposed to do with it. And who can blame them!<\/p>\n

In theory you can manage fine in Dutch without ever uttering the word \u2018er\u2019. However, it is important that students figure out and learn how to use the word \u2018er\u2019 in practice. Not only because it helps them sound more natural<\/a>, but also because it helps them better understand the nuances of Dutch.<\/p>\n

\u2018Er\u2019 is used in a number of ways and has a definite meaning. Many in fact. The thing to remember is that the meaning of \u2018er\u2019 depends on the context<\/strong>. \u2018Er\u2019 (almost) always\u00a0 refers to something from the preceding sentence and can be replaced by that word. Have a look at the examples below.<\/p>\n

What does \u2018er\u2019 refer to?<\/h2>\n

Example 1<\/p>\n