Breakdown of Hij stapelt de dozen er nu op.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
nu
now
op
on
de doos
the box
Questions & Answers about Hij stapelt de dozen er nu op.
Why is "er" separated from "op" by "nu"?
When er combines with a preposition like op to mean 'on it', they form a word called a pronominal adverb (erop). In a main clause, these two parts are usually split. The er part comes earlier in the sentence, and the preposition (op) gets pushed to the end. Time words like nu (now) naturally sit between them.
Why does "de dozen" come before "er"? I thought "er" usually comes right after the verb.
This happens because de dozen (the boxes) is a specific direct object, meaning it uses the definite article de. Specific direct objects come before the er that belongs to a preposition. If he were stacking unspecific boxes, er would jump ahead: Hij stapelt er nu dozen op.
Could "op" be part of a separable verb here, like "opstapelen"?
That is a very smart guess because opstapelen (to pile up) is a real separable verb! However, because the translation specifically says 'on it', we know that op pairs with er here to mean 'on it', using the standard verb stapelen (to stack).
Can I translate 'on it' literally and say "op het" instead of using "er ... op"?