Measuring Ingredients
When baking or following a recipe, you will often need to weigh ingredients using specific units like het gram (the gram) or de lepel (the spoon).
| I weigh one hundred grams of butter. | Ik weeg honderd gram boter. |
Pay attention to the verb toevoegen (to add). It is a separable verb, so the prefix toe- moves to the end of the clause in a simple main sentence.
| You add a spoon of sugar. | Je voegt een lepel suiker toe. |
The Quantitative Pronoun "er"
In English, if someone asks "Do we have spoons?", you can reply "I am taking two." In Dutch, you cannot leave the number hanging by itself. If you omit the noun, you must insert the word er into the sentence to replace it.
When used this way, er translates roughly to "of them" or "of it".
| Do we have spoons? Yes, I am taking two of them. | Hebben we lepels? Ja, ik pak er twee. |
| Do you want apples? I still have three of them. | Wil jij appels? Ik heb er nog drie. |
Using "er" with Amounts and Negation
This rule applies not just to exact numbers, but to any quantity where the noun is left out. You will use er with words like een kilo (a kilo) or genoeg (enough).
| These apples are tasty, I am buying a kilo of them. | Deze appels zijn lekker, ik koop er een kilo. |
| How many cookies are you baking in the oven? I am baking enough of them. | Hoeveel koekjes bak jij in de oven? Ik bak er genoeg. |
You must also use er with the negative word geen (no/none) to express "none of them".
| I do not eat cookies, so I am not baking any. | Ik eet geen koekjes, dus ik bak er geen. |