In Dutch, how you refer back with a preposition depends on whether you mean a person or a thing. For people, you keep the preposition and add a personal pronoun like 'hem' or 'haar'. For things, you use 'er' joined with the preposition. In this deck, you will learn how to make this contrast, reply naturally in conversation, and point forward to whole clauses.

When you wait for a person, use 'op' followed by an object pronoun, as in 'Ik wacht op haar' for 'I am waiting for her', or 'Ik wacht op hem' for 'I am waiting for him'. But when waiting for a thing, like a train or bus, use 'erop'. For example, 'Ja, ik wacht erop' means 'Yes, I am waiting for it'.