Questions & Answers about Ik kan hiermee de deur openen.
hiermee is a pronominal adverb meaning “with this.” It’s formed by combining the preposition met (“with”) and the demonstrative adverb hier (“here/this”). In Dutch you often fuse a preposition + pronoun (or adverb) into a single word:
- met + hier → hiermee (“with this”)
- aan + dat → daaraan (“to that”)
- in + dit → hiërin (archaic; nowadays hierin)
Dutch main clauses follow the Verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb (kan) must occupy the second position. When there is a modal auxiliary like kan, its infinitive (openen) moves to the very end. So the structure is:
1) Subject (Ik)
2) Finite verb (kan)
3) Other elements (hiermee de deur)
4) Infinitive (openen)
Yes. Both orders are grammatically correct:
- Ik kan hiermee de deur openen.
- Ik kan de deur hiermee openen.
Switching them may slightly shift the emphasis (focus on the tool vs. focus on the door), but it does not change the core meaning.
They are related pronominal adverbs but differ in nuance:
- hiermee = “with this (here, near me).”
- daamee = “with that (there, over there).”
- ermee = “with it / therewith,” often used for abstract or previously mentioned things.
Use hiermee when you refer to something physically at hand; use daamee for something farther away.
Yes, if you explicitly name the tool:
Ik kan met deze sleutel de deur openen.
Use hiermee when you’ve already mentioned or are pointing to the item (“this key”), so you avoid repeating a noun.
Both mean “to open,” but:
- openen is the neutral or slightly formal transitive verb.
- opendoen is a separable-verb more common in everyday speech.
E.g. Ik open de deur vs. Ik doe de deur open.
You can, but you remove the modal kan and change the meaning to a plain present tense:
- Ik kan hiermee de deur openen. → “I can open the door with this.”
- Ik open hiermee de deur. → “I open the door with this.”