Breakdown of Ik voel me erg emotioneel omdat er nu veel herinneringen zijn.
ik
I
zijn
to be
nu
now
veel
much / many / a lot of
Questions & Answers about Ik voel me erg emotioneel omdat er nu veel herinneringen zijn.
Why is er placed right after omdat and before nu?
This is a key rule for middle field word order. In a subordinate clause (introduced here by omdat), er usually goes as close to the beginning of the clause as possible. It sits right after the conjunction and before time adverbs like nu and the actual subject (veel herinneringen).
Do erg and er mean similar things here?
No, they just look similar! Erg means "very" (modifying emotioneel), while er is used here to mean "there" (as in "there are").
Why is it Ik voel me instead of just Ik voel?
When talking about your emotions or physical state, the Dutch verb zich voelen (to feel) is reflexive. You literally say "I feel myself emotional." If you just use voelen without me, it means physically touching an object.
Why do we need er at all? Couldn't we just say omdat nu veel herinneringen zijn?
Dutch uses er to introduce an indefinite subject (a subject that isn't specific, like "the" or "my"). Since veel herinneringen (a lot of memories) is indefinite, Dutch requires er to express "there are".