Contrast and concession are two closely related but distinct relationships. Contrast simply sets two things against each other ("X, but Y"). Concession is stronger: it admits something that might lead you to expect one thing, then overturns that expectation ("although X, nevertheless Y"). Dutch marks both with a rich set of connectors — and as always, each connector belongs to a grammatical class that dictates the word order. A coordinator like maar leaves the verb in second position; an adverb like echter or niettemin forces inversion when fronted; a subordinator like hoewel sends the verb to the end. This page sorts the whole toolkit by both meaning and class.
Contrast: setting two things against each other
maar — the everyday coordinator (verb stays second)
maar ("but") is the workhorse of contrast and a coordinator: it links two equal main clauses and leaves the verb in second position. It's neutral in register and by far the most common contrast word in speech.
Ik wilde komen, maar ik kon geen oppas vinden.
I wanted to come, but I couldn't find a babysitter. (maar → 'kon' stays second)
Het ziet er duur uit, maar het is het waard.
It looks expensive, but it's worth it. (maar → verb second; order untouched)
echter — the formal "however" (adverb, inversion)
echter ("however") is a conjunctional adverb and decidedly more formal than maar — at home in writing, reports, and careful speech. Because it's an adverb, fronting it forces inversion. It is also famously mobile: Dutch writers very often tuck echter into the middle field rather than the front, where no inversion is involved.
De plannen waren ambitieus. Echter ontbrak het aan geld.
The plans were ambitious. However, there was a lack of money. (echter fronted → 'ontbrak' before 'het')
De plannen waren ambitieus. Het ontbrak echter aan geld.
The plans were ambitious. There was, however, a lack of money. (echter mid-field — preferred by many writers; no inversion)
daarentegen — on the other hand (adverb, inversion)
daarentegen ("on the other hand, by contrast") is a conjunctional adverb used to oppose two parallel things point-by-point. Fronted, it inverts; it also sits comfortably in the middle field.
Mijn broer houdt van drukte. Ik daarentegen zoek juist de rust op.
My brother loves a crowd. I, on the other hand, seek out the quiet. (daarentegen mid-field after the subject)
toch — yet, still, anyway (adverb)
toch is a small, high-frequency adverb that signals "contrary to expectation". Fronted as a clause-opener it inverts (Toch ging het mis — "Still, it went wrong"); but it's most often a mid-field particle meaning "anyway / after all / nonetheless". It straddles contrast and concession.
Hij had alles gecontroleerd. Toch ging er iets mis.
He'd checked everything. Still, something went wrong. (toch fronted → 'ging' before 'er')
Het regende, maar we zijn toch gegaan.
It was raining, but we went anyway. (toch mid-field = anyway, nonetheless)
Concession: admitting then overturning
hoewel / ofschoon — although (subordinator, verb-final)
hoewel ("although") is the standard concessive subordinator: its verb goes to the end. ofschoon is a more formal/literary synonym with identical word order. The concession clause can come first or second.
Hoewel het hard regende, gingen we toch op pad.
Although it was raining hard, we set off anyway. (hoewel → 'regende' at the end; main clause then inverts because the hoewel-clause filled slot 1)
Ik heb het gekocht, hoewel ik het eigenlijk niet nodig had.
I bought it, although I didn't really need it. (hoewel → 'had' at the end)
Notice in the first example a double effect: hoewel sends its own verb to the end, and because the whole concession clause occupies slot 1 of the main clause, the main verb (gingen) inverts. Learners often pair hoewel with a resumptive toch in the main clause — "although... still..." — which is idiomatic and welcome.
al + inversion — even if / although (verb-initial concession)
al ("even if, although") introduces a concessive clause with a distinctive structure: the clause begins with al immediately followed by the finite verb (inversion-like, verb in first position), and the main clause then typically picks up with toch. This is a compact, common, slightly more informal alternative to hoewel.
Al is het duur, ik koop het toch.
Even though it's expensive, I'll buy it anyway. (al + verb 'is' first; main clause resumes with toch)
Al regent het de hele dag, we gaan gewoon door.
Even if it rains all day, we'll just carry on. (al + 'regent' in first position)
weliswaar ... maar — admittedly ... but (the concessive pair)
weliswaar ... maar is a fixed correlative pair: weliswaar ("admittedly, it's true that") concedes a point in the first clause, and maar overturns it in the second. weliswaar is an adverb (so if it's fronted, the verb inverts; more often it sits mid-field), and maar is the usual coordinator. This pairing is the natural Dutch way to say "yes, X is true, but Y."
Het is weliswaar duurder, maar het gaat ook veel langer mee.
It's admittedly more expensive, but it also lasts much longer. (weliswaar mid-field concedes; maar overturns)
Weliswaar had hij gelijk, maar zijn toon was onnodig hard.
Admittedly he was right, but his tone was needlessly harsh. (weliswaar fronted → 'had' before 'hij'; maar in the second clause)
niettemin / desondanks — nevertheless (adverb, inversion)
niettemin and desondanks both mean "nevertheless, in spite of that" and are conjunctional adverbs (formal in tone). Fronted, they invert. They state the overturning result after the conceded point, often standing in for an English "still / all the same."
De cijfers waren slecht. Desondanks bleef het bestuur optimistisch.
The figures were bad. Nevertheless, the board stayed optimistic. (desondanks → 'bleef' before 'het bestuur')
Hij was uitgeput; niettemin maakte hij het karwei af.
He was exhausted; nevertheless he finished the job. (niettemin → 'maakte' before 'hij')
integendeel — on the contrary (adverb, inversion)
integendeel ("on the contrary") doesn't concede — it flatly reverses the previous statement, asserting the opposite. As an adverb it inverts when fronted, and it often stands alone as a one-word rebuttal: Integendeel!
Het hielp niet. Integendeel, het maakte alles erger.
It didn't help. On the contrary, it made everything worse.
ondanks — despite (+ noun phrase, NOT a clause)
ondanks ("despite, in spite of") is a preposition, not a connector between clauses. It takes a noun phrase, never a full clause with its own verb. This is the single biggest trap on this page for English speakers, because English "despite" is matched by both "despite the rain" (noun) and "even though it rained" (clause). In Dutch you must split these: ondanks de regen (noun) but hoewel het regende (clause). To turn ondanks into a clause-taker, use ondanks dat ("despite the fact that", verb-final).
Ondanks de regen ging het feest gewoon door.
Despite the rain, the party went ahead anyway. (ondanks + the noun phrase 'de regen')
Ondanks dat hij ziek was, kwam hij toch opdagen.
Despite the fact that he was ill, he still showed up. (ondanks dat → clause, verb 'was' at the end)
Summary table
| Connector | Contrast or concession | Class | Verb position |
|---|---|---|---|
| maar | contrast | coordinator | second |
| echter (formal) | contrast | adverb | inversion when fronted |
| daarentegen | contrast | adverb | inversion when fronted |
| toch | contrast/concession | adverb | inversion when fronted; else mid-field |
| hoewel / ofschoon (literary) | concession | subordinator | end |
| al ... | concession | verb-first clause | finite verb first; main clause + toch |
| weliswaar ... maar | concession | adverb + coordinator | weliswaar inverts if fronted; maar = second |
| niettemin / desondanks (formal) | concession | adverb | inversion when fronted |
| integendeel | reversal | adverb | inversion when fronted |
| ondanks (+NP) | concession | preposition | no clause — takes a noun phrase |
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik wilde komen, maar ik geen oppas kon vinden.
Incorrect — 'maar' is a coordinator, so the verb stays second: 'maar ik kon geen oppas vinden'.
✅ Ik wilde komen, maar ik kon geen oppas vinden.
I wanted to come, but I couldn't find a babysitter.
❌ De plannen waren goed. Echter het geld ontbrak.
Incorrect — fronted 'echter' is an adverb, so the verb inverts: 'Echter ontbrak het geld'. (Or move echter to mid-field.)
✅ De plannen waren goed. Echter ontbrak het geld.
The plans were good. However, the money was lacking.
❌ Ondanks het regende, gingen we door.
Incorrect — 'ondanks' takes a noun, not a clause. Use 'hoewel het regende' or 'ondanks dat het regende'.
✅ Hoewel het regende, gingen we door.
Although it was raining, we carried on.
❌ Hoewel het regende, maar we gingen toch.
Incorrect — don't pair 'hoewel' with 'maar'; the resumptive word is 'toch', not 'maar'.
✅ Hoewel het regende, gingen we toch.
Although it was raining, we went anyway.
❌ Het is weliswaar duur, echter het is goed. (clash of registers + missing 'maar')
Incorrect — the fixed pair is 'weliswaar ... maar'; don't swap in 'echter' as the second half.
✅ Het is weliswaar duur, maar het is goed.
It's admittedly expensive, but it's good.
Key Takeaways
- Contrast: maar (coordinator, verb second), echter and daarentegen (adverbs, inversion when fronted — echter loves the middle field).
- Concession: hoewel/ofschoon (subordinator, verb-final), al + verb (verb-first clause, resumed by toch), weliswaar ... maar (the fixed pair), niettemin/desondanks (adverbs, inversion).
- integendeel reverses rather than concedes; ondanks is a preposition (+ noun), so use hoewel or ondanks dat for a clause.
- Pair hoewel and al with a resumptive toch, never with maar.
- When unsure about echter, slot it into the middle field to sidestep the inversion entirely.
Now practice Dutch
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Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
- Discourse Markers: OverviewB1 — A map of the Dutch connectives that hold a text together — cause/result, contrast, addition, sequence, summary — and the one rule that governs them all: a marker's grammatical class (coordinator, conjunctional adverb, subordinator) decides what it does to the verb.
- Conditional and Concessive: Als, Tenzij, Hoewel, AlB1 — How Dutch builds 'if', 'unless', 'although' and 'even though' clauses — and why one of them, al, breaks the verb-final rule and forces inversion instead.
- Conjunctional Adverbs: Daarom, Dus, Toch, Echter, BovendienB2 — Words like daarom, dus and echter connect ideas in meaning but are grammatically adverbs — so when they open a clause they force V2 inversion, unlike want (no change) and omdat (verb-final).
- Advanced Concessive ConstructionsC1 — The full range of Dutch concession beyond 'hoewel': 'al' with inversion (al ben je nog zo moe), the 'hoe/wat/wie ... ook' pattern (however/whatever/whoever, verb-final), ondanks + noun phrase versus ondanks dat + clause, the formal 'zij het' (albeit) and 'niettegenstaande'. Which take a clause, which take a noun phrase, and the word order each one demands.
- Inversion After a Fronted ElementA2 — When anything but the subject opens a Dutch main clause, the subject and finite verb swap — including the hallmark 'verb-comma-verb' collision after a fronted subordinate clause.
- Verb-Final Order in Subordinate ClausesA2 — After a subordinating conjunction, relative pronoun, or question word, the entire verb cluster — including the finite verb — moves to the end of the clause.