Learn Dutch: Ik eet geen koekjes, dus ik bak er geen. - I do not eat cookies, so I am not baking any.

This is the quantitative er. Whenever you state a quantity of something but leave out the noun itself (in this case, koekjes), Dutch requires you to use er. It works a lot like saying 'any' or 'of them' in English.

Wait, is geen considered a quantity?

Yes! Just like numbers (twee, vijf) or words like veel (many), the word geen (none or not any) acts as a quantity here. Because we are saying 'none' without repeating the word 'cookies', we have to pair it with er.

Why is the word order dus ik bak instead of dus bak ik?

The word dus (so) is a coordinating conjunction, which means it simply links two independent sentences together. It doesn't force the verb to jump to the front, so the second half just uses the standard Subject-Verb order (ik bak).

Why is er placed right before geen?

In Dutch, er likes to sit early in the clause, right after the verb and any pronouns. Here, it follows the verb bak. The quantity itself (geen) goes at the end of the sentence.