---
title: "Er with numbers: Ik heb er drie"
level: B1
chapter: "Word order"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/er-with-numbers
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Er with numbers: Ik heb er drie

When you leave out the noun after a number or an amount word such as _veel_, _weinig_, _een paar_ or _geen_, Dutch adds the little word _er_. Someone asks _Hoeveel kinderen heb je?_ and you answer _Ik heb er twee_. English stops at "I have two", but Dutch needs _er_ to stand in for the noun you dropped.

## The pattern

> If a number or amount word stands without its noun, put _er_ in the sentence. _Er_ takes the place of the noun you left out.

- The left-out noun is something you can count: children, apples, chairs, bikes.
- The trigger words: numbers, _veel_, _weinig_, _een paar_, _geen_, _genoeg_ and _hoeveel_.
- _Er_ usually comes early, right after the verb and the subject. The amount stays where the noun would have been: _Ik heb er gisteren drie gekocht._
- In a subordinate clause (a part of a sentence that starts with a word like _dat_ or _omdat_ and puts its verb at the end), you get the same split: _dat ik er drie heb_.
- With [er is and er zijn](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/er-is-er-zijn) you may hear two: _Er zijn er drie._ If the two would stand side by side, one _er_ does both jobs: _Ik denk dat er drie zijn._
- A one-word answer has no sentence around it, so no _er_: _Hoeveel? Drie._

## Examples

| Hoeveel kinderen heeft Fatima? Ze heeft **er drie**. | How many children does Fatima have? She has three. |
| Heb je broers of zussen? Nee, ik heb **er geen**. | Do you have brothers or sisters? No, I don't have any. |
| De appels waren in de aanbieding, dus Daan heeft **er tien** gekocht. | The apples were on offer, so Daan bought ten. |
| Priya kent veel mensen op haar werk, maar in haar eigen straat kent ze **er weinig**. | Priya knows lots of people at work, but she knows few in her own street. |
| Hoeveel fietsen staan er in de schuur? **Er staan er vijf.** | How many bikes are there in the shed? There are five. |
| We hebben stoelen van de buren geleend, omdat we **er** zelf niet **genoeg** hadden. | We borrowed chairs from the neighbours because we didn't have enough ourselves. |
| De huisarts vroeg hoeveel tabletten ik nog had, en ik zei dat ik **er** nog **zes** had. | The GP asked how many tablets I had left, and I said I had six left. |
| Lotte had koekjes gebakken voor haar verjaardag, maar ze heeft **er** zelf maar **een paar** gegeten. | Lotte had baked biscuits for her birthday, but she only ate a few herself. |

## Why it works this way

Think of _er_ as a pointer. You have just mentioned children, apples or chairs, and _er_ points back at them while the number says how many. English has a loose version in "three of them" or "I don't have any", but there it is optional. In Dutch the pointer belongs in the sentence, so _Ik heb twee_ sounds as if you forgot a word.

If you speak French, you know this already: "j'en ai deux" works the same way. Speakers of English, German, Spanish and Arabic tend to forget _er_, because in those languages a number can stand alone.

_Er_ points at an open amount, part of a group. When you mean the whole group, with _allebei_ or _allemaal_, use _ze_ instead: _Die boeken? Ik heb ze allebei gelezen._

Why does _er_ move forward while _drie_ stays behind? Small unstressed words like _er_, _het_ and _hem_ like to sit close to the verb. The number is the news, so it stays further back, where the stress falls. This is one of [the four jobs of er](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/er-overview).

Remember: when the noun leaves, _er_ moves in, and the number stays where it was.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik heb twee broers en Daan heeft drie._ Say: _Ik heb twee broers en Daan heeft er drie._ (the second _broers_ is left out, so _er_ fills its place)
- Not: _Ik wilde aardbeien kopen, maar ze hadden geen meer._ Say: _Ik wilde aardbeien kopen, maar ze hadden er geen meer._ (_geen_ without its noun needs _er_ too)
- Not: _Er waren veel mensen op het feest, maar ik kende weinig._ Say: _Er waren veel mensen op het feest, maar ik kende er weinig._ (same rule for _veel_ and _weinig_)
- Not: _Die twee boeken? Ik heb er allebei gelezen._ Say: _Die twee boeken? Ik heb ze allebei gelezen._ (_allebei_ means the whole group, so use _ze_)

## Quick check

1. Fill in the gap: _Hoeveel collega's heb je? Ik heb ... twaalf._
2. Choose _er_ or _ze_: _Ik had tien boterhammen gesmeerd, maar Bas heeft ... allemaal opgegeten._
3. Fix the sentence without repeating the noun: _Mijn buurvrouw heeft drie katten en ik heb geen._
4. Choose _er_ or _er er_: _Hoeveel bussen rijden er op zondag? Ik denk dat ... maar twee rijden._

## Answers

1. _er_: _collega's_ is left out after _twaalf_, so _er_ takes its place.
2. _ze_: _allemaal_ means the whole group, not an open amount.
3. _Mijn buurvrouw heeft drie katten en ik heb er geen._ (_geen_ without its noun needs _er_)
4. _er_: the two would stand side by side, so one _er_ does both jobs.

## Use it today

Answer three how-many questions about your own life out loud in full Dutch sentences: children, bikes, houseplants or colleagues (_Ik heb er geen_ counts too). Then, at the market or the bakery, point at what you want and say _Ik neem er zes._

## Questions learners ask

**What does er mean in "ik heb er twee"?**

Here er stands in for a noun that was already mentioned, so "ik heb er twee" means "I have two (of them)". Dutch adds it when you leave out the noun after a number or an amount word.

**Why do you say "ik heb er geen" instead of "ik heb geen" in Dutch?**

Geen without its noun needs er, just like numbers, veel, weinig and een paar do. "Heb je kinderen? Nee, ik heb er geen" is correct, while "ik heb geen" sounds unfinished.

**Where does er go in a Dutch sentence with a number?**

Er usually comes early, right after the verb and the subject, while the number stays further back: "Ik heb er gisteren drie gekocht." In a subordinate clause it works the same way: "dat ik er drie heb".

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.