When you list arguments, give instructions, or tell a story, you need words that put your points and events in order: first, then, next, finally. Dutch has a tidy set of these sequencing markers — ten eerste, allereerst, daarna, vervolgens, ten slotte — and they do two jobs. They organize a list of points ("firstly... secondly... finally...") and they organize a sequence of events ("first we... then we... in the end we..."). The grammar to watch is almost entirely one rule: nearly all of these markers are conjunctional adverbs, so the moment you put one at the front of a clause — which is exactly where you naturally want it — the verb has to come second and the subject moves behind it. That's inversion, and forgetting it is the number-one error here.
The inversion rule, once, for all of them
Dutch is verb-second: a main clause allows exactly one element before the finite verb. A fronted sequencing adverb is that one element, so the verb stays in second position and the subject is bumped to third.
| Front the marker... | ...and the verb comes next, before the subject |
|---|---|
| Ten eerste | is het te duur. |
| Daarna | gingen we eten. |
| Vervolgens | belde ze de dokter. |
| Ten slotte | bedankte hij iedereen. |
Listing points: first, second, third
To rank arguments or items, Dutch uses the ten + ordinal series: ten eerste (firstly), ten tweede (secondly), ten derde (thirdly), and so on. Note the spelling: two words, ten + the ordinal, no hyphen. A common warmer alternative for the very first point is allereerst ("first of all") or om te beginnen ("to begin with"). All trigger inversion when fronted.
Ten eerste is het plan te duur, ten tweede is er geen tijd voor.
Firstly, the plan is too expensive; secondly, there's no time for it. (ten eerste / ten tweede → verb 'is' before the subject each time)
Allereerst wil ik de organisatie bedanken.
First of all, I'd like to thank the organisers. (allereerst → 'wil' before 'ik')
Om te beginnen moeten we het budget bekijken.
To begin with, we need to look at the budget. (om te beginnen → 'moeten' before 'we')
Sequencing events: first, then, next, after that
For events in time, the core set is eerst (first), daarna (then, after that), vervolgens (next, subsequently), dan (then), and the closers ten slotte / tot slot (finally) and uiteindelijk (in the end, eventually). Every one of these inverts when fronted.
Eerst doe je de ui erbij, daarna voeg je de knoflook toe.
First you add the onion, then you add the garlic. (eerst / daarna → verb before subject in each clause)
We hebben gegeten. Vervolgens zijn we naar de film gegaan.
We had dinner. Next, we went to the cinema. (vervolgens → 'zijn' before 'we')
Hij twijfelde lang. Uiteindelijk koos hij voor de baan in Utrecht.
He hesitated for a long time. In the end, he chose the job in Utrecht. (uiteindelijk → 'koos' before 'hij')
A nuance worth knowing: daarna and vervolgens are near-synonyms ("then / next"), but vervolgens is a touch more formal and emphasizes that the next step follows directly on from the last. dan ("then") is the most informal and is especially common in spoken instructions: Eerst dit, dan dat ("First this, then that").
ten slotte vs tenslotte — the spelling trap
This is the one genuinely tricky point on the page, and it trips up native speakers too. Dutch distinguishes two words that sound identical:
- ten slotte (two words) = finally, lastly — the sequencing closer, the last item in a series.
- tenslotte (one word) = after all, when all is said and done — a reason-giving adverb, not a sequence marker. It means something like "you have to remember that..." / "after all..."
We bespraken het budget, het rooster en ten slotte de locatie.
We discussed the budget, the schedule, and finally the location. (ten slotte = last in the list → two words)
Maak je geen zorgen — hij heeft tenslotte jaren ervaring.
Don't worry — he has years of experience, after all. (tenslotte = 'after all', giving a reason → one word)
Both ten slotte and tot slot invert when fronted, like the other adverbs here:
Ten slotte wil ik iedereen bedanken voor de inzet.
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for their effort. (ten slotte → 'wil' before 'ik')
enerzijds ... anderzijds — on the one hand ... on the other
For weighing two sides, Dutch uses the correlative pair enerzijds ... anderzijds ("on the one hand ... on the other hand"). Both halves are adverbs, so each one inverts when it opens its clause. A more everyday spoken version is aan de ene kant ... aan de andere kant.
Enerzijds wil ik de baan, anderzijds betekent het verhuizen.
On the one hand I want the job, on the other hand it means relocating. (enerzijds → 'wil' before 'ik'; anderzijds → 'betekent' before 'het')
Aan de ene kant is het goedkoper, aan de andere kant duurt het langer.
On the one hand it's cheaper, on the other hand it takes longer.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ten eerste het is te duur.
Incorrect — fronted 'ten eerste' is an adverb, so the verb inverts: 'Ten eerste is het te duur'.
✅ Ten eerste is het te duur.
Firstly, it's too expensive.
❌ Daarna we gingen naar huis.
Incorrect — fronted 'daarna' forces inversion: 'Daarna gingen we naar huis'.
✅ Daarna gingen we naar huis.
Then we went home.
❌ We bespraken alles en tenslotte de locatie.
Incorrect spelling for 'finally/lastly' — the sequence closer is two words: 'ten slotte'. One word 'tenslotte' means 'after all'.
✅ We bespraken alles en ten slotte de locatie.
We discussed everything and finally the location.
❌ Ten eerst is het te duur.
Incorrect — the ordinal keeps its ending: 'ten eerste' (and 'ten tweede', 'ten derde'), not 'ten eerst'.
✅ Ten eerste is het te duur.
Firstly, it's too expensive.
❌ Enerzijds ik wil de baan, anderzijds het betekent verhuizen.
Incorrect — both 'enerzijds' and 'anderzijds' are adverbs and invert when fronted: 'Enerzijds wil ik...', 'anderzijds betekent het...'.
✅ Enerzijds wil ik de baan, anderzijds betekent het verhuizen.
On the one hand I want the job, on the other hand it means relocating.
Key Takeaways
- The list series is ten eerste / ten tweede / ten derde (two words, ordinal keeps its ending), with allereerst and om te beginnen as openers.
- The event series is eerst → daarna / vervolgens → ten slotte / tot slot → uiteindelijk; vervolgens is slightly more formal than daarna, and dan is the casual spoken "then".
- Almost all of these are conjunctional adverbs: front one and the verb inverts (verb before subject).
- ten slotte (two words) = "finally/lastly"; tenslotte (one word) = "after all". When in doubt about a closer, use tot slot.
- Weigh two sides with enerzijds ... anderzijds — both halves invert when fronted.
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.
- Adding and Listing InformationB2 — The Dutch markers for piling up points and ordering a list — 'en', 'ook', 'bovendien', 'daarnaast', 'verder', 'tevens', 'ten eerste/ten tweede', 'enzovoort' — and which of them force the verb to invert when they open a sentence.
- 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).
- 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-Second (V2) in Main ClausesA1 — The backbone of Dutch main clauses — the finite verb sits in the second position, where 'position' means the second constituent, not the second word.