Breakdown of Hebben we lepels? Ja, ik pak er twee.
ik
I
hebben
to have
twee
two
pakken
to take
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
ja
yes
de lepel
the spoon
er
of them (with a number or quantity)
Questions & Answers about Hebben we lepels? Ja, ik pak er twee.
Why do we need er in the second sentence? Can't I just say "Ja, ik pak twee"?
In Dutch, you cannot leave a number or a quantity word hanging by itself when the noun it describes is left out. Since we drop the word lepels (spoons) in the second sentence, we must use the quantitative er to replace it. Think of er here as meaning "of them"—literally, "I take of them two."
Where exactly does the quantitative er go in the sentence?
It generally wants to be as close to the beginning of the sentence as possible, typically right after the verb and any pronouns. Here, it sits immediately after the verb pak. Notice how it separates the verb from the number twee, whereas in English "of them" usually goes at the very end of the sentence.
Why use pak instead of neem for "taking"?
Both pakken and nemen translate to "to take," but they have slightly different feels. Pakken is physical; it means "to grab," "to fetch," or "to pick up" with your hands. This makes perfect sense for physically getting spoons from a drawer. Nemen is used more for making choices, taking transportation, or consuming food and drinks.
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