Many Dutch adjectives (describing words) come with a fixed preposition, a small word like _op_ or _voor_ that belongs to them: you are _trots op_ (proud of) your child and _bang voor_ (afraid of) the dentist. The preposition is often not the one English uses, so learn each pair as one chunk. When a whole clause (a sentence part with its own verb) follows, you usually add _er_: _Ik ben er trots op dat ik geslaagd ben._
The pattern
The preposition belongs to the adjective and is often not the English one. Before a clause, Dutch usually adds _er_ to the main sentence and keeps the preposition after the adjective.
- With _op_: _trots op_ (proud of), _boos op_ (angry with someone), _jaloers op_ (jealous of), _gek op_ (crazy about)
- With _voor_: _bang voor_ (afraid of), _verantwoordelijk voor_ (responsible for)
- With _in_: _goed in_ (good at), _geïnteresseerd in_ (interested in)
- With _met_: _blij met_ (happy with)
- With _over_: _tevreden over_ (satisfied with; _tevreden met_ also occurs)
- Before a clause or _om te_: _Ik ben er niet goed in om nee te zeggen._
Examples
| Sanne is trots op haar zoon, want hij heeft zijn zwemdiploma gehaald. | Sanne is proud of her son, because he got his swimming certificate. |
|---|---|
| Daan is bang voor honden, maar hij is gek op katten. | Daan is afraid of dogs, but he is crazy about cats. |
| Fatima is heel blij met haar nieuwe fiets. | Fatima is very happy with her new bike. |
| Mijn buurvrouw is boos op me, omdat ik mijn fiets voor haar raam heb gezet. | My neighbour is angry with me because I parked my bike in front of her window. |
| Priya is erg goed in plannen, dus zij maakt het rooster. | Priya is very good at planning, so she makes the rota. |
| Ben je geïnteresseerd in een taalcursus bij de bibliotheek? | Are you interested in a language course at the library? |
| Lotte is verantwoordelijk voor de koffie op kantoor. | Lotte is responsible for the coffee at the office. |
| Carlos is een beetje jaloers op zijn collega, die maar vier dagen per week werkt. | Carlos is a bit jealous of his colleague, who only works four days a week. |
| De huisarts is tevreden over mijn bloeddruk. | The GP is satisfied with my blood pressure. |
| Emma is er trots op dat ze haar inburgeringsexamen in één keer heeft gehaald. | Emma is proud that she passed her civic integration exam at the first attempt. |
Why it works this way
In these pairs the preposition has mostly lost its literal meaning: the _op_ in _trots op_ has nothing to do with "on". Dutch and English simply settled on different words. Some pairs match (_geïnteresseerd in_, _verantwoordelijk voor_), but word-for-word translation will often let you down.
The _er_ is about word order. In standard Dutch, the preposition after these adjectives does not stand directly in front of a _dat_ clause. Instead, _er_ goes before the adjective as a placeholder, the preposition stays after it, and the clause follows at the end. Before an _om te_ phrase, _er_ is common too, as in _Ik ben er niet goed in om nee te zeggen._ The same _er_ replaces "it" for things: _Ik ben er trots op._ After _er_, _met_ becomes _mee_: _Ik ben er blij mee._ See [er plus a preposition](#/lesson/er-plus-preposition) for more, and [verbs with a fixed preposition](#/lesson/verbs-with-prepositions) for the same idea with verbs.
A few adjectives often leave out both _er_ and the preposition before a clause, especially _bang_, _blij_ and _boos_: _Ik ben bang dat de trein vertraging heeft._ The same happens before _om te_: _Ik ben bang om te vallen._ In speech you will also hear _trots dat_, but _er trots op dat_ is the safe choice.
A different preposition can change the meaning:
- _boos op Bas_ (angry with Bas) versus _boos over de vertraging_ (angry about the delay)
- _blij met je cadeau_ (happy with your present) versus _blij voor je_ (happy for you)
Remember: strong feelings aimed at someone or something often take _op_: _trots op_, _boos op_, _jaloers op_, _gek op_, and also _verliefd op_ (in love with). Picture the feeling landing on its target. This is a hook, not a rule: _bang voor_ and _blij met_ go their own way.
Watch out
- Not: _Ik ben trots van jou._ Say: _Ik ben trots op jou._ (English "of" is _op_ here)
- Not: _Ze is jaloers van haar zus._ Say: _Ze is jaloers op haar zus._ (_jaloers_ takes _op_)
- Not: _Hij is boos met zijn baas._ Say: _Hij is boos op zijn baas._ (angry with a person is _boos op_)
- Not: _Ik ben trots op dat ik Nederlands spreek._ Say: _Ik ben er trots op dat ik Nederlands spreek._ (in standard Dutch the preposition does not go straight before _dat_, so add _er_)
- Not: _Ik ben blij met het._ Say: _Ik ben er blij mee._ (for "it", use _er_, and _met_ becomes _mee_)
Quick check
- Fill in the gap: _Yara is jaloers ... haar zus, want die heeft een vaste baan._
- Choose: _Bas is goed (in / op / aan) koken._
- Fix the sentence by adding one word: _Mei is verantwoordelijk voor dat de vergadering op tijd begint._
- Choose: _Ahmed heeft een nieuwe telefoon. Is hij er blij (met / mee)?_
Answers
- _op_: you are _jaloers op_ someone, even though English says "of".
- _in_: "good at" is _goed in_.
- Add _er_: _Mei is er verantwoordelijk voor dat de vergadering op tijd begint._ The clause needs _er_ as a placeholder.
- _mee_: after _er_, _met_ becomes _mee_.
Use it today
Today, tell a colleague, partner or neighbour one thing you are _blij met_, for example _Ik ben blij met mijn nieuwe werkplek_. Then write one true sentence that starts with _Ik ben er trots op dat ik_ about something you managed in Dutch this week.