そして: And / And Then | Japanese Grammar

This page opens the Sentence Connectors — words that stand at the head of a sentence, after a full stop, to link it to the one before. They are a different creature from the clause connectors we've been covering (て-form, し, から, とき), which live inside a single sentence and glue its clauses together. そして is the most basic of the sentence connectors: it means "and / and then," and it works exactly like starting a fresh English sentence with "And…" or "Then…." The single most important thing to internalize is that そして joins whole sentences, not clauses — which is precisely where English speakers misuse it.

そして stands at the start of a new sentence

そして comes after a 。 (full stop), begins the next sentence, and is normally followed by a comma. It adds the next fact or the next step as a complete new statement:

宿題をした。そして、寝た。

shukudai o shita. soshite, neta

I did my homework. And then I went to bed.

朝、公園を走った。そして、シャワーを浴びた。

asa, kōen o hashitta. soshite, shawā o abita

In the morning I ran in the park. And then I took a shower.

Each part is a full sentence with its own predicate (した／寝た, 走った／浴びた). そして is the bridge between them, not glue within one of them. If you can put a full stop before your "and" in English — "I did my homework. And then I went to bed." — そして is the right tool.

💡

そして operates at the sentence boundary: 〜。そして、〜。 It is never used mid-sentence to chain two verbs — that's the て-form. Think of it as capital-A "And…" at the start of a new English sentence.

Two jobs: next step, and extra point

そして does two closely related things. First, it strings events in sequence — this happened, and then that:

映画を見た。そして、レストランで食事をした。

eiga o mita. soshite, resutoran de shokuji o shita

We watched a film. And then we had a meal at a restaurant.

Second, it adds a further point or trait — not a next event in time, but an additional thing to say about the topic. Here そして is closer to "and also / on top of that":

彼は優しい。そして、頭がいい。

kare wa yasashii. soshite, atama ga ii

He's kind. And he's smart.

この町は静かだ。そして、とても住みやすい。

kono machi wa shizuka da. soshite, totemo sumiyasui

This town is quiet. And it's very easy to live in.

In narrative and literary prose, そして carries a slightly formal, measured weight — it paces a story, marking the beat between one action and the next:

彼は何も言わなかった。そして、静かに部屋を出て行った。

kare wa nani mo iwanakatta. soshite, shizuka ni heya o dete itta

He said nothing. And then he quietly left the room.

The list-closing そして: before the final item

There is one place そして legitimately appears inside a sentence: right before the last item of a list, where it works like the final "and" in "A, B, and C." It gives the closing item a sense of culmination:

りんご、みかん、そしてバナナを買った。

ringo, mikan, soshite banana o katta

I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.

This is the exception that proves the rule: even here そして is marking the boundary before a final, weightiest element — a "list-final" position that mirrors its usual "sentence-initial" role. It is not joining two verbs.

Why overusing そして sounds childish

Here is the insight that separates natural writing from beginner writing. Because そして lives at the sentence boundary, stringing sentence after sentence with it produces the rhythm of a child listing steps: "I got up. And I washed my face. And I ate breakfast. And I went to work." Mature Japanese folds those internal steps together with the て-form and reserves そして for a genuine new beat.

Compare the choppy version:

朝起きた。そして、顔を洗った。そして、朝ご飯を食べた。

asa okita. soshite, kao o aratta. soshite, asagohan o tabeta

I got up. And I washed my face. And I ate breakfast. (choppy — reads like a child's list)

with the smooth, adult version that chains the routine internally with て:

朝起きて、顔を洗って、朝ご飯を食べて、会社へ行った。

asa okite, kao o aratte, asagohan o tabete, kaisha e itta

I got up, washed my face, ate breakfast, and went to work.

The smooth version reads as one flowing action-sequence; the choppy one clunks. The rule of thumb: use て (and し) for the internal joins, and let そして appear only where you'd genuinely start a new sentence in careful English. In speech, で and それで often stand in for そして, which can sound a touch narrated aloud.

💡

A quick self-edit: if two of your sentences could be one — the same subject doing consecutive actions — join them with the て-form and delete the そして. Reserve そして for a genuine change of beat, and your Japanese immediately sounds more adult.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1 — Using そして to glue two verbs mid-sentence. Chaining verbs within a sentence is the て-form's job. そして needs a sentence boundary in front of it.

❌ 料理をしてそして、食べた。

Wrong — you can't drop そして into the middle of a clause chain. Use plain て: 料理をして食べた (or split into two sentences).

✅ 料理をして食べた。

ryōri o shite tabeta

I cooked and ate.

Mistake 2 — Using そして to join two nouns. English "and" between nouns is と (or や for an open list), never そして.

❌ パンそして牛乳を買った。

Wrong — 'bread and milk' joins two nouns, which takes と: パンと牛乳.

✅ パンと牛乳を買った。

pan to gyūnyū o katta

I bought bread and milk.

Mistake 3 — Comma-splicing そして in mid-sentence. そして begins a new sentence; don't tack it on after a comma inside a running sentence.

❌ 走った、そして、シャワーを浴びた。

Wrong punctuation — そして starts a new sentence, so end the first with 。 first.

✅ 走った。そして、シャワーを浴びた。

hashitta. soshite, shawā o abita

I ran. And then I took a shower.

Mistake 4 — Starting every sentence with そして. Grammatical, but it makes prose sound like a toddler's recap. Fold internal steps into て-forms.

❌ 起きた。そして、食べた。そして、出かけた。

Choppy and childish — chain the steps with て instead: 起きて、食べて、出かけた。

✅ 起きて、食べて、出かけた。

okite, tabete, dekaketa

I got up, ate, and went out.

Key takeaways

そして is a sentence connector: it stands at the head of a new sentence (〜。そして、〜。) to add the next event or an extra point — like "And…" / "Then…" starting an English sentence.
It does not join two verbs mid-sentence — that's the て-form; and it does not join two nouns — that's と.
Its two jobs are sequence ("and then") and addition ("and also").
The one internal use is before a list's final item (りんご、みかん、そしてバナナ).
Don't overuse it — sentence-after-sentence そして sounds childish; mature prose leans on て and し for internal joins and saves そして for a real new beat.

Now practice Japanese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Japanese→