English has one little adverb, then, that does two jobs: it sequences a story in the past ("first we ate, then we left") and it sequences the present or future ("first you click here, then you save"). It also means "in that case" ("if you want, then I'll come"). Dutch splits this work between toen and dan, and the cut is almost entirely about tense. Get the rule and you'll place them automatically: past narration takes toen; everything non-past takes dan. Both also share one piece of syntax that surprises English speakers — when you put them at the front of a clause, the verb jumps in front of the subject (inversion). That makes them easy to mix up structurally, so it's worth pinning down which is which.
The one rule
- Past narration ("then / at that time," telling what happened next in a story already in the past) → toen.
- Present or future sequence ("then / next") and "in that case" → dan.
Eerst aten we, en toen gingen we naar de film.
First we ate, and then we went to the cinema. — past narration, so toen.
Eerst eten we, en dan gaan we naar de film.
First we'll eat, and then we'll go to the cinema. — present/future sequence, so dan.
Those two are the whole page in one minimal pair: identical sentence, only the tense differs, and that flips toen to dan.
Toen: 'then' in past storytelling
When you're narrating a chain of past events — this happened, then that happened — the sequencing "then" is toen. It's the same word as the conjunction toen ("when," for a single past event), and the link is natural: both anchor you to a specific past moment.
We kwamen aan in Berlijn, en toen begon het te regenen.
We arrived in Berlin, and then it started to rain. — next step in a past story: toen.
Ik deed de deur open, en toen zag ik dat er was ingebroken.
I opened the door, and then I saw there'd been a break-in. — past narration: toen.
Eerst belde ze, toen stuurde ze nog een berichtje.
First she called, then she sent another text. — sequential past events: toen.
When toen opens the clause, it triggers inversion — the verb comes before the subject: toen *gingen we (then went we), toen **begon het* (then began it). This is the same V2 rule as any fronted element in Dutch.
Dan: 'then / next' in the present and future, and 'in that case'
For sequences in the present or future, the "then" is dan. This covers instructions, plans, routines, recipes — anything not set in the past. Dan also carries the "in that case" meaning that pairs with als ("if"): Als je wilt, dan kom ik — "if you want, (then) I'll come."
Je klikt eerst hier, en dan sla je het bestand op.
You click here first, and then you save the file. — present-tense instructions: dan.
We doen eerst boodschappen en dan koken we samen.
We'll do the shopping first and then we'll cook together. — future plan: dan.
Als het morgen mooi weer is, dan gaan we fietsen.
If the weather's nice tomorrow, then we'll go cycling. — 'in that case': dan, paired with als.
Doe maar rustig aan; dan ben je op tijd klaar.
Just take it easy; then you'll be done in time. — consequence in the present/future: dan.
Like toen, a fronted dan triggers inversion: dan *sla je op, dan **gaan we*. So both words push the verb forward when they lead the clause — the difference between them is purely tense/meaning, never word order.
Side by side
| Use | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| next step in a past story | toen | …en toen gingen we weg |
| "at that time" (past) | toen | Toen was ik nog jong |
| next step (present/future) | dan | …en dan gaan we weg |
| "in that case" (with als) | dan | Als je wilt, dan kom ik |
Hold on to the contrasting pair from the top: en toen gingen we weg (past) vs. en dan gaan we weg (non-past). Tense alone decides.
A note on the toen / dan family
It helps to see how toen and dan slot into the wider "when/then" system, because the same two roots keep reappearing:
- toen (adverb) = "then, at that time" in the past — this page.
- toen (conjunction) = "when" for a single past event — Toen ik klein was… (see Toen, Als, Wanneer).
- dan (adverb) = "then, next / in that case" — this page.
- dan (comparison) = "than" after a comparative — groter *dan ik* (see Als vs Dan).
So toen is the past specialist (both as "then" and as "when"), while dan is the non-past / comparison workhorse. Whenever you reach for "then" and you're inside a finished past story, it's toen; otherwise it's almost certainly dan.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eerst aten we, en dan gingen we weg.
Incorrect — the verbs are past (aten, gingen), so the sequencing 'then' must be toen.
✅ Eerst aten we, en toen gingen we weg.
First we ate, and then we left.
❌ Morgen eten we eerst en toen gaan we naar het strand.
Incorrect — a future sequence takes dan, not toen (toen is past-only).
✅ Morgen eten we eerst en dan gaan we naar het strand.
Tomorrow we'll eat first and then go to the beach.
❌ Als je klaar bent, toen kom je naar mij.
Incorrect — 'in that case' with als is dan, never toen.
✅ Als je klaar bent, dan kom je naar mij.
When you're done, (then) come to me.
❌ En toen we gingen weg.
Incorrect word order — fronted toen triggers inversion: verb before subject.
✅ En toen gingen we weg.
And then we left.
❌ Dan was ik nog een kind, dus dat weet ik niet meer.
Incorrect — 'at that time' in the past is toen, not dan.
✅ Toen was ik nog een kind, dus dat weet ik niet meer.
I was still a child then, so I don't remember that.
Key Takeaways
- The split is tense-based: toen for "then / at that time" in past narration; dan for "then / next" in the present or future, and for "in that case" (with als).
- The same sentence flips on tense alone: en *toen gingen we weg (past) vs en **dan gaan we weg* (non-past).
- Both trigger inversion when fronted — verb before subject (toen gingen we, dan gaan we) — so word order doesn't tell them apart; meaning and tense do.
- toen is the past specialist (also the "when" conjunction for a single past event); dan is the non-past workhorse (also "than" after a comparative).
- When in doubt and you're not in a past story, default to dan.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Toen, Als, Wanneer: Three Words for 'When'B1 — English 'when' splits into three Dutch words. Toen marks a single event in the past; als marks something repeated or non-past (and also means 'if'); wanneer is for questions and unknown times. This page gives the one decision rule, head-to-head minimal pairs, and the errors English speakers make most — above all using 'als' for a single past event.
- Als vs Dan in ComparisonsA2 — After a comparative, Dutch uses dan (groter dan ik, meer dan tien); for equality, it uses zo + adjective + als (net zo groot als). English speakers don't have this problem from their own language, but they hear native speakers say the substandard 'groter als' everywhere. This page gives the clean written rule, head-to-head pairs, and the reason 'groter als' is a shibboleth.
- Time Adverbs: Nu, Straks, Toen, Altijd, NooitA1 — The everyday Dutch time adverbs — nu (now), straks/zo (in a moment), dan vs toen (then, non-past vs past-only), the frequency set altijd/vaak/meestal/soms/nooit, and the calendar words gisteren/vandaag/morgen/overmorgen. Covers the toen–dan split that trips up every English speaker, the inversion a fronted time adverb forces, and why Dutch puts time before manner and place.
- Temporal Conjunctions: Toen, Als, Wanneer, Terwijl, NadatB1 — How Dutch carves up 'when' and 'while' — the crucial toen/als/wanneer split, plus terwijl, voordat, nadat, zodra, sinds and totdat.