Learn Hardcore Dutch: Anna blijft thuis; Tom daarentegen gaat naar het stadion. - Anna stays home; Tom, on the other hand, is going to the stadium.

daarentegen is a conjunctive adverb meaning “on the other hand” or “in contrast.” It connects two independent clauses and highlights the contrast between Anna (who stays home) and Tom (who goes to the stadium).

Why is there a semicolon between the clauses instead of a comma or a period?

The semicolon (puntkomma) links two closely related independent clauses more tightly than a period would, without the full stop, and it’s stronger than a comma alone. You could use a period:
Anna blijft thuis. Tom daarentegen gaat naar het stadion.
but the semicolon shows the direct contrast more elegantly. A comma would be incorrect here because each clause is a full sentence on its own.

Why does the word order change after daarentegen?

In Dutch, most adverbs or adverbial expressions placed at the beginning of a clause trigger inversion: the finite verb comes directly after them. So after daarentegen, the subject Tom follows the verb gaat, producing Tom daarentegen gaat… → inverted to daarentegen gaat Tom…. In your example the writer chose to keep Tom in front for clarity but still inverts gaat:
Tom daarentegen gaat naar het stadion.

Could we use maar instead of daarentegen here?