Breakdown of Wil jij appels? Ik heb er nog drie.
ik
I
jij
you
hebben
to have
de appel
the apple
drie
three
willen
to want
nog
still, yet / more, another (with a quantity)
er
of them (with a number or quantity)
Questions & Answers about Wil jij appels? Ik heb er nog drie.
What does er mean in the second sentence?
Here, er replaces the noun that was just mentioned (appels). It translates to "of them" or "of it" in English. This is called the quantitative er.
Can I just say Ik heb nog drie like we say "I still have three" in English?
No, in Dutch, you cannot leave a number or quantity hanging without a noun. If you do not repeat the noun (appels), you are required to use er to replace it.
Why is the word order Ik heb er nog drie rather than putting er at the end?
The word er is a very "light" word that likes to sit as close to the working verb (heb) as possible. It generally goes right after the verb and before adverbs like nog (still) or niet (not).
What exactly does nog add to this sentence?
The word nog means "still". In this context, it gives the meaning of having items "left" or "remaining", as in "I still have three of them" or "I have three of them left."
Why is the plural of appel made with an -s (appels) instead of -en?
Nouns that end in an unstressed syllable like -el, -er, or -en usually take an -s for the plural. Because the stress in appel is on the first syllable, it simply becomes appels.
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