EHD-postposition | Dutch Grammar

The EHD-postposition is related to [_er_ replacing het/ze](#/lesson/WordOrder.38).

An EHD-postposition is a preposition that is attached to _er, hier_, or _daar_. Recall, that when a preposition precedes the pronouns _het_ (it), _dit/deze_ (this/these) or _dat/die_ (that/those), the pronouns are replaced by respectively _er, hier_ or _daar_. You have probably read this before, but to refresh your memory:

preposition + noun | Ik heb met dit racket getennist. | I have played tennis with this racket.

er + postposition | Ik heb ermee\\* getennist. | I have played tennis with it.

er + ... + postposition | Ik heb er vandaag mee getennist. | Today, I played tennis with it.

As you can see, not only is _het_ replaced by _er_, the preposition is also attached to _er_. Moreover, it does not precede it - as it does with a noun, but it is placed after it. Hence, the word _post_ position.

In the above example, _er_ and _mee_ are attached to each other. However, they can be separated by other components. We usually glue them together when there are no other, interfering components. Sometimes, the postposition remains attached to _er, hier_ or _daar,_ even when they can be separated by other sentence-components. This is, however, less common

_Er, hier_ and _daar_ ( [EHD](#/lesson/WordOrder.09)) are placed at the beginning of the middle part.

The EHD-postposition is placed immediately before the OV, or before the PF if there is one.

Examples

[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | [EHD](#/lesson/WordOrder.09) | [TIME](#/lesson/WordOrder.13) | POST | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)

Ik heb | er | van de week | mee | getennist

I have played tennis with it this week.

As you can see, _er_ and _mee_ are separated by _van de week_ (and indeed, _er_ sits at the beginning of the middle part).

[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | [EHD](#/lesson/WordOrder.09) | [DIROB](#/lesson/WordOrder.16) | [MISC](#/lesson/WordOrder.28) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)

Je moet | daar | het geld | in | werpen

You have to insert (throw) a coin (in) there.

Note that _daar_ is not necessarily a replacement of _dat_: It can perfectly refer to a location. The preposition is, however, indifferent to the nature of _daar_. Whenever a preposition is combined with _daar_ (or _er_ or _hier_), be it a replacement of _dat_ or a reference to a location, the preposition always turns into a postposition.

We should immediately stop (with) that.

The above example shows how the EHD-postposition precedes the prefix of the separable compound verb.

Do not confuse the postposition with the [prefix of the separable compound verb](#/lesson/WordOrder.25)!

[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | [EHD](#/lesson/WordOrder.09) | [DIROB](#/lesson/WordOrder.16) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)

De Stones hebben | daar | hun eerste plaat | opgenomen

The Stones recorded their first record there.

Had you taken the prefix _op_ as a postposition, you would have mistakenly separated the prefix from its verb. This is not exactly a grave mistake, as we will be perfectly able to understand the intended message. Sometimes, though, the meaning of a sentence can change by such tiny mistakes.

[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | [EHD](#/lesson/WordOrder.09) | [DIROB](#/lesson/WordOrder.16) | [MISC](#/lesson/WordOrder.28) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)

De dief had | er | het geld | - | op gestreken
De dief had | er | het geld | op | gestreken

In the first sentence, we find the [separable compound verb](#/lesson/Verbs.Co04) _opstrijken_, which means 'to acquire' (money, profit). We could translate the sentence as: "The thief had pocketed the money there".

The second sentence does not have a compound verb. We know this, because _op_ is not attached to _gestreken_. Conclusion: _op_ is a postposition related to _er_ and _gestreken_ is the past participle of the verb _strijken_ (to iron!). The translation gives us a picture of a very tidy criminal: "The thief had ironed the money on it".