Breakdown of Ich brauche Kleber, und zum Glück haben wir noch welchen.
ich
I
und
and
haben
to have
wir
we
brauchen
to need
noch
still / yet
zum Glück
luckily, fortunately
der Kleber
the glue
welcher
some / any (pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Ich brauche Kleber, und zum Glück haben wir noch welchen.
Why does the sentence end with welchen rather than just welche?
The pronoun has to match the gender and case of the noun it replaces. It replaces Kleber (glue), which is masculine (der Kleber). Because it is the direct object of the verb haben, it takes the accusative case, making it welchen.
Could I just use etwas to mean 'some' here?
Yes, ... haben wir noch etwas is perfectly grammatical and means the same thing. However, using forms of welche as a pronoun for 'some of it' is extremely common in everyday German when referring back to a specific mass noun you just mentioned.
Does welchen here mean 'which ones'?
No, in this context it means 'some'. When a form of welcher stands alone without a noun, it acts as an indefinite pronoun. It replaces a previously mentioned plural noun ('some of them') or an uncountable mass noun like glue ('some of it').
Why is the word order haben wir instead of wir haben after the comma?
The conjunction und connects the two main clauses but doesn't take up a numbered position itself. The phrase zum Glück (luckily) takes the first position in the second clause. Because German requires the verb in the second position, haben comes next, pushing the subject wir to the third position.
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