Breakdown of Er zit wat op de thermometer.
op
on
er
there (existential)
zitten
to be (located) in
wat
something / some (a little)
de thermometer
the thermometer
Questions & Answers about Er zit wat op de thermometer.
Why is wat used here instead of iets?
In this context, wat means "something" and acts as a more casual, unstressed version of iets. You could perfectly well say Er zit iets op de thermometer, but using wat makes it sound a bit more conversational.
Could wat mean "a little" in this specific sentence?
Not in this exact sentence. While wat can mean "a little" or "some" when placed right before an uncountable noun (like wat water for "some water"), here it stands completely alone as a pronoun. When it stands alone like this, it takes the meaning of "something" (iets).
Why use zit (sits) instead of is (is) to say "there is"?
Dutch is very specific about positional verbs. When an unspecified thing is located on a surface, stuck to it, or contained within it (like a smudge or a bug on a thermometer), Dutch uses zitten. While English just says "there is", Dutch prefers this physical position verb.
What is the function of Er at the beginning of the sentence?
Er acts as a placeholder subject, exactly like "There" in the English translation "There is something". Because wat (something) is an indefinite subject (we don't know exactly what it is), Dutch grammatical rules require Er at the start of the sentence to introduce it.
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