Pronominal Adverbs
Pronouns are not used after a preposition when referring to inanimate objects. The ordinary series of neuter pronouns (het, dat, wat, etc.) cannot normally appear after a preposition, and they are instead replaced by the corresponding "r-pronoun":
| regular pronoun | het | dit | dat | wat | iets | niets | alles |
| r-pronoun | er | hier | daar | waar | ergens | nergens | overal |
| pronoun meaning | it | this | that | what | something | nothing | everything |
| adverb meaning | there | here | there | where | somewhere | nowhere | everywhere |
As indicated in the table, the r-pronouns (so-called because they all contain the letter r) are used in other contexts as locative adverbs. When used with a preposition, these r-pronouns usually do not appear after the preposition, but before it. Thus for example:
- Ik reken . ("I count on your support.")
- Ik reken (can only mean "I count on him (a person).")
- Ik reken *. Ik reken *. (both incorrect)
- Ik reken erop/daarop/hierop (correct, "I count on it/on that/on this.")
The r-pronoun and the preposition should be written as one word (except with ergens, nergens, and overal), and the resulting form is called a "pronominal adverb" (Dutch: voornaamwoordelijk bijwoord) in Dutch grammar. These forms are similar to words like hereupon, whereupon in English or darauf, worauf in German, but Dutch shows two particularities:
- Two prepositions change their form: met → ermee ("therewith/with it"), tot → ertoe ("thereto/to it").
- Hij stemt in. ("He agrees with all proposals.")
- Hij stemt in. ("He agrees with everything.")
- The r-pronoun and the preposition can be separated from each other (also possible in colloquial or dialectal German, but not Standard German):
- Daar reken ik op. ("That, I am counting on.")
- Waar reken je op? ("What are you counting on?")
- Ik reken er niet op. ("I am not counting on it.", lit. "I count there not on")
Read more about this topic: Dutch Grammar