Breakdown of Wij herinneren elkaar eraan om elk uur water te drinken.
drinken
to drink
het water
the water
wij
we
om
for
het uur
the hour
elkaar
each other
elk
every
herinneren
to remind
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Questions & Answers about Wij herinneren elkaar eraan om elk uur water te drinken.
What is the difference between elkaar and ons in this sentence?
Elkaar is the reciprocal pronoun meaning “each other” – it tells us that the members of the group remind one another. Ons would be a reflexive pronoun meaning “ourselves,” which you’d use if the subject reminds itself as a single entity, not mutually.
Why do we have eraan in herinneren elkaar eraan?
The verb herinneren (to remind) requires the preposition aan to introduce what you’re reminding someone of. The er- is a placeholder pronoun that stands in for that content. Combined as eraan, it means “of it” or “about it,” pointing forward to the infinitive clause.
Why is elkaar placed before eraan rather than after?
In Dutch main clauses, after the finite verb the order of pronouns is fixed: personal/reflexive/reciprocal pronouns (like elkaar) come before er (and hier). Since er attaches to aan, you get herinneren – elkaar – eraan.
Why is om ... te used before elk uur water te drinken?
The construction om + infinitive + te introduces a subordinate clause of purpose or content (similar to English “to …”). Here om elk uur water te drinken tells us exactly what we remind each other to do.
Could we say Wij herinneren elkaar om elk uur water te drinken, without eraan?
No. To remind someone of something in Dutch you must use aan. Because the “something” is postponed in an infinitive clause, you need the placeholder er, hence eraan. Omitting it breaks the required herinneren aan structure.
Why does om elk uur water te drinken come at the end of the sentence?
Dutch subordinate clauses (those introduced by words like om) follow Subject–Object–Verb–(other verbal elements) order, pushing infinitive groups to the very end.
Why is it elk uur and not elke uur, and is ieder uur possible?
Uur is a neuter noun in Dutch, so you use elk (neuter) rather than elke (common gender). You can also say ieder uur, which is equally correct and idiomatic for “every hour.”
How do I choose between herinneren and zich herinneren?
Use herinneren iemand aan iets when you want to remind someone of something. Use the reflexive zich herinneren iets (sometimes zich iets herinneren) when you want to remember or recall something yourself. In this sentence we’re doing the action of reminding, so we use herinneren with a direct object and aan.