Learn Dutch: Wij aarzelen erover. - We hesitate about it.

In Dutch, you cannot combine a preposition with the pronouns het or dat. Instead, the pronoun turns into er (or daar) and attaches to the preposition. So, over + het becomes the pronominal adverb erover.

If we were hesitating about a specific person, could we still use erover?

No. The use of er + preposition is strictly for inanimate objects (things or concepts). If you are hesitating about a person, you must use the preposition followed by a personal pronoun, such as over hem (about him) or over haar (about her).

Can erover be split into two words if we add more information to this sentence?

Yes, pronominal adverbs like erover often split when other words are added. For example, if you add niet (not), it typically goes between the two parts: Wij aarzelen er niet over (We do not hesitate about it).

Is over the fixed preposition for the verb aarzelen?

Yes, aarzelen over is a fixed combination meaning to hesitate about or over something. Knowing this fixed preposition helps you easily form the correct pronominal adverb (erover) when you want to replace an inanimate object with a pronoun.