---
title: "Splitting er and its preposition"
level: B2
chapter: "Word order"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/split-er-preposition
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Splitting er and its preposition

When _er_, _daar_ or _waar_ goes with a preposition (a word like _aan_, _op_ or _van_), Dutch usually splits the pair. The small word stays early in the sentence, and the preposition moves to the end, right before any verbs waiting there: _Ik heb er niet aan gedacht_ (I didn't think of it), _Daar heb ik niets van gemerkt_ (I didn't notice anything), _Waar heb je het over?_ (What are you talking about?).

In the [previous lesson](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/er-plus-preposition) you learned _erop_, _ervan_ and _daarmee_ as single words. In real conversations you will hear them split all the time, so this lesson shows where each half goes.

## The pattern

> _Er_, _daar_ and _waar_ stay early in the sentence, and their preposition moves back to stand just before the verbs at the end of the sentence.

- _Er_ comes early, usually right after the subject or the conjugated verb (the verb that changes with the subject): _Gisteren heb ik er niet aan gedacht._
- Other words in the middle (_niet_, _al_, _niets_, a time, an object) go between the two halves.
- The preposition stands right before the final verbs, also in a subordinate clause (a clause starting with a word like _omdat_ or _of_): _omdat ik er niet aan had gedacht_. With no final verb, it usually comes last: _Bas klaagt er elke dag over._
- With a separable verb (a verb like _opbellen_ that splits into two parts), the preposition comes before the separated part: _Ik kijk er erg naar uit._
- _Daar_ and _waar_ often start the sentence, and the preposition still waits at the end: _Waar wacht je op?_
- Spelling: one word when the parts touch (_Ik heb erover nagedacht_), two words when something stands between them (_Ik heb er lang over nagedacht_).

## Examples

| Sorry, ik heb **er** helemaal niet **aan** gedacht. | Sorry, I completely forgot about it. |
| **Daar** heb ik niets **van** gemerkt. | I didn't notice a thing. |
| **Waar** heb je het **over**? | What are you talking about? |
| Fatima heeft **er** twee weken **op** moeten wachten. | Fatima had to wait two weeks for it. |
| Lotte vindt de regen niet erg, maar Bas klaagt **er** elke dag **over**. | Lotte doesn't mind the rain, but Bas complains about it every day. |
| De gemeente heeft **er** pas gisteren een brief **over** gestuurd. | The municipality didn't send a letter about it until yesterday. |
| Ik weet niet of Daan **er** zin **in** heeft. | I don't know if Daan feels like it. |
| Is dat de app **waar** je het **over** had? | Is that the app you were talking about? |
| Priya kijkt **er** erg **naar** uit. | Priya is really looking forward to it. |

## Why it works this way

A Dutch sentence has a frame: the conjugated verb near the start and the other verbs at the end (see [the verb bracket](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/verb-bracket)). Inside that frame, short unstressed words like _het_, _me_ and _er_ tend to sit at the front. Words that belong tightly to the verb sit at the back: separable parts, and the fixed preposition of verbs like _denken aan_, _wachten op_ and _klagen over_ (more in [verbs with a fixed preposition](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/verbs-with-prepositions)). So _er_ is pulled forward, its preposition is pulled back, and Dutch lets each half go where it belongs.

Remember: treat the preposition like the _op_ of _opbellen_. You say _Ik bel je morgen op_, so you say _Ik denk er morgen aan_.

With _er_, the split is the normal pattern. With _daar_ and _waar_, the joined form is also correct: _Daarvan heb ik niets gemerkt_, _Waarover heb je het?_ These sound more formal or written; in conversation and most work emails the split version is more common. _Daar_ is the stressed word (that one), so it can open a sentence. Unstressed _er_ does not normally open a sentence in this meaning, so at the start you say _daar_.

English speakers have a head start, because English also leaves prepositions behind: What are you waiting for? Two things change in Dutch: _wat_ becomes _waar_, and the preposition goes before the final verbs, not after them: _Waar heb je op gewacht?_ German speakers often keep the pair together, as standard German usually does, and say _niet eraan_. That is not the normal Dutch order: in a neutral sentence, Dutch says _er niet aan_.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik kijk er erg uit naar._ Say: _Ik kijk er erg naar uit._ (_naar_ goes before the separable part _uit_, not after it)
- Not: _Wat heb je het over?_ Say: _Waar heb je het over?_ (with a preposition, _wat_ becomes _waar_)
- Not: _Ik ben bang voor het._ Say: _Ik ben er bang voor._ (the pronoun _het_ does not follow a preposition; _er_ takes its place and _voor_ goes to the end)
- Not: _Ik weet niet of ik er tijd heb voor._ Say: _Ik weet niet of ik er tijd voor heb._ (in a subordinate clause the preposition still comes before the verb at the end)

## Quick check

1. Your colleague is explaining something and you have lost track. Fill in the question word: _... heb je het over? Ik kan je even niet volgen._
2. Fill in the preposition: _Lotte heeft geen zin in de buurtbarbecue, maar Carlos heeft er wel zin ..., want hij kent de hele straat._
3. Choose the correct sentence: _Mei heeft er al een uur op gewacht._ or _Mei heeft er al een uur gewacht op._
4. Choose _er_ or _daar_: _Was er gisteren een stroomstoring? ... heb ik niets van gemerkt._

## Answers

1. _Waar_ (with a preposition, _wat_ becomes _waar_, and _over_ stays at the end)
2. _in_ (the expression is _zin hebben in_; with no final verb, the preposition ends the clause)
3. _Mei heeft er al een uur op gewacht._ (the preposition comes before _gewacht_, not after it)
4. _Daar_ (the first position needs stressed _daar_, not unstressed _er_)

## Use it today

Send a friend or colleague a short message about something coming up this week, using two split forms, for example _Ik kijk er erg naar uit_ and _Ik heb er nog niet over nagedacht_.

## Questions learners ask

**Why does Dutch split er and the preposition?**

Unstressed er goes early in the sentence with other short words, while the preposition stays close to the verbs at the end, much like a separable verb part. That is why you say Ik heb er niet aan gedacht.

**Is it eraan or er aan in Dutch?**

Write eraan as one word when er and aan stand next to each other, as in Ik heb eraan gedacht. Write two words when something comes between them, as in Ik heb er niet aan gedacht.

**How do you say "What are you talking about?" in Dutch?**

Say Waar heb je het over? With a preposition, wat becomes waar and the preposition goes to the end. Waarover heb je het? is also correct but sounds more formal.

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