The Position of er
The word er (often meaning there) is short and unstressed, so it likes to appear early in a sentence. In a standard main clause, it sits immediately after the finite (conjugated) verb.
If the sentence has inversion (for example, starting with a time or question word), the subject and verb swap places, and er sits immediately after the subject.
| Today we find a lot of old stuff there. | Vandaag vinden we er veel oude spullen. |
| Why do you put increasingly more junk there? | Waarom leg je er steeds meer troep? |
Before Time and Negation
Because er stays near the front, it comes before adverbs of time (like nu, vandaag, or soms) and negative words (like geen or niet).
| They are looking for a dusty photo album there now. | Ze zoeken er nu een stoffig fotoalbum. |
| I don't keep any junk there anymore. | Ik bewaar er geen troep meer. |
When a sentence has both a time adverb and a negation, the typical order is er + time + negation.
| I am not getting rid of any usable furniture there today. | Ik doe er vandaag geen bruikbare meubels weg. |
This rule also applies in subordinate clauses (like those starting with omdat). The conjugated verb is pushed to the end, but er keeps its spot right after the subject—still leading time adverbs and negations.
| The attic is musty because we never come there. | De zolder is muf omdat we er nooit komen. |