# How long will it take?



## HighlyAcidic

A builder came to my apartment and I thought I was being clever with my Duolingo Dutch saying "Hoe lang duurt er?" to ask how long it will take.

He understood me, but I looked it up and it looks like the standard phrase is "Hoe lang duurt het?"

I thought I had learned that "er" was used in such cases with an indeterminate object? Like in German it would be "Wie lang dauert es?"

So why is "er" wrong here?

Thank you!


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## Chimel

_er _is not equivalent to German _es_ (except in : er is/es gibt).

It is quite difficult to explain the use of _er _in Dutch. It can indicate a place: Kan je er zijn ? Can you be there?
It can also introduce a passive voice : er wordt gezegd dat... they say that ("it is said")
And it is also very frequent in combinations with a preposition: ervan, ervoor, erin, ermee... - very often split up: ik ben er principieel tegen

But when you refer to an indeterminate object, as in your example, it should be _het _: hoeveel kost het? Het is koud vandaag...


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## HighlyAcidic

Chimel said:


> _er _is not equivalent to German _es_ (except in : er is/es gibt).
> 
> It is quite difficult to explain the use of _er _in Dutch. It can indicate a place: Kan je er zijn ? Can you be there?
> It can also introduce a passive voice : er wordt gezegd dat... they say that ("it is said")
> And it is also very frequent in combinations with a preposition: ervan, ervoor, erin, ermee... - very often split up: ik ben er principieel tegen
> 
> But when you refer to an indeterminate object, as in your example, it should be _het _: hoeveel kost het? Het is koud vandaag...


How about a phrase like *Zorg er altijd voor dat...* 

What function does the *er* have there? Would the phrase work without it?


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## Peterdg

HighlyAcidic said:


> What function does the *er* have there?


I don't know exactly. There is no agreement under grammarians, not only in this case but in a lot of cases. "Er" is a very difficult word in Dutch and it is used in a lot of instances.

The "Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst" dedicates 25 pages in the main article about "er" to the different uses of "er".


HighlyAcidic said:


> Would the phrase work without it?


No.


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## Chimel

HighlyAcidic said:


> How about a phrase like *Zorg er altijd voor dat...*


I cannot explain the function (if the "Algemene Nederlandse Spraakunst" dedicates 25 pages to it, who am I to try to explain it?). All I can say, practically, is that it is a combination of er + preposition, but _ervoor_ is split up when there is another element in the sentence, like in my example above "ik ben er principieel tegen".

So: ik zorg voor (dit probleem) -> ik zorg voor dit (if you don't want to mention "problem"), but actually you say in this case "ik zorg ervoor". If you add another word such as "altijd", it is split up: "ik zorg er altijd voor".


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## Red Arrow

This website explains the word "er" in just 9 pages: Dutch Grammar •  A funny word: 'er'

It is nearly exactly like the French words y and en and like Italian ci and ne.


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## Chimel

Red Arrow said:


> It is nearly exactly like the French words y .


Only when _er _indicates a place, not in "er voor zorgen" or "er wordt gezegd", for example.


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## Red Arrow

Chimel said:


> Only when _er _indicates a place, not in "er voor zorgen" or "er wordt gezegd", for example.


In many other cases as well:
Il y a = Er is
J'y pense = Ik denk eraan
J'en veux deux = Ik wil er twee
J'en ai besoin = Ik heb er nood aan
J'en rêve = Ik droom erover, ik droom ervan


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## HighlyAcidic

Okay but how about this: *Wie heeft er gisteren gekookt?*

This just means *Who cooked yesterday?* right? What is the *er* doing here?! Would the sentence work without it? This is the most mysterious thing about Dutch!


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## Red Arrow

I _think_ "Wie heeft gisteren gekookt?" also works. Similarly, you can say both of these sentences:

Er heeft gisteren iemand gekookt. = Iemand heeft gisteren gekookt.

Page 5 (out of 9) explains it. (According to this page, you have to add the "er" in questions that start with an interrogative pronoun such as "who")


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