This type of er is hardly different from the previous type. It comes from ervan, meaning 'of it' or 'of them'. "I have two of them" translates to "Ik heb er twee (van)".
Because het is combined with a preposition, we use er instead. At some point, the Dutch must have decided to drop the postposition van, leaving us with a bare er.
| FF
| EHD
| DIROB
| OV
|
| Ik heb
|
| veel bananen
| gegeten
|
| Ik heb
| er
| veel
| gegeten
|
| I have eaten many bananas (many of them).
|
| FF
| EHD
| DIROB
| OV
|
| We hebben
|
| twee kleine egeltjes
| gezien
|
| We hebben
| er
| twee
| gezien
|
| We have seen two little hedgehogs (two of them).
|
| FF
| EHD
| DIROB
| OV
|
| Hij heeft
|
| weinig vrienden
| -
|
| Hij heeft
| er
| weinig
| -
|
| He has few friends (few of them).
|
| FF
| EHD
| TIME
| DIROB
| OV
|
| We hebben
|
| afgelopen nacht
| zoveel vallende sterren
| gezien
|
| We hebben
| er
| afgelopen nacht
| zoveel
| gezien
|
| We have seen so many falling stars (so many of them) last night!
|