Breakdown of Ik heb een zaag en ik zaag het hout ermee.
ik
I
een
a/an
en
and
hebben
to have
ermee
with it
het hout
the wood
de zaag
the saw
zagen
to saw
Questions & Answers about Ik heb een zaag en ik zaag het hout ermee.
Why do we use ermee instead of met het for 'with it'?
In Dutch, you cannot combine a preposition like met (with) with the pronoun het (it). Instead, you replace het with er and attach the preposition to the end of it, creating a fused word like ermee.
Why does met change to mee in ermee?
When the preposition met attaches to er, its spelling and pronunciation change to mee. This is a special exception you just have to memorize: er + met = ermee.
Why is the word zaag used twice in this sentence?
It is used as two different types of words! The first one in een zaag is the noun for a saw. The second one in ik zaag is the verb for I saw or I am sawing.
Why does ermee go at the very end of the sentence?
In a simple main clause like ik zaag het hout ermee, the direct object (het hout) usually comes before the pronominal adverb (ermee). You can think of ermee as replacing the phrase 'with the saw', which also naturally sits at the end of the sentence.
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