The pattern
These linking adverbs (words that connect a sentence to the one before it) show your reader where the text is going. When one opens a sentence, the conjugated verb (the verb that changes with the subject) usually follows it directly.
- Adding: bovendien and daarnaast: Bovendien is het goedkoper.
- Contrasting: echter usually stands in the middle of the sentence, after the verb: Het plan is echter duur. Daarentegen sets two people or things against each other and also tends to come after the verb.
- Concluding: kortom is usually followed by a comma and normal word order; al met al takes the verb right after it.
- Listing: ten eerste, ten tweede, ten derde, ten slotte, each followed by the verb.
### Useful extras for exam writing
Exam writing tasks, for example in the NT2 exams, often ask for an opinion with reasons. Keep these ready too:
- Adding: ook, verder (furthermore)
- Contrasting: maar, toch (still, even so), aan de ene kant and aan de andere kant (on the one hand, on the other hand)
- Cause and result: daarom (that's why), dus (so)
- Closing: tot slot (to finish)
A few well-placed linking words do more than one in every sentence.
Examples
| De nieuwe wijk ligt dicht bij het station. Bovendien zijn de huren er lager. | The new neighbourhood is close to the station. What's more, the rents are lower there. |
| Ik werk vier dagen per week. Daarnaast volg ik een avondcursus Nederlands. | I work four days a week. In addition, I'm taking an evening course in Dutch. |
| Het voorstel van de gemeente is goed doordacht. Het is echter erg duur. | The municipality's proposal is well thought out. However, it is very expensive. |
| Fatima wil een groot feest geven. Ahmed viert zijn verjaardag daarentegen liever rustig thuis. | Fatima wants to throw a big party. Ahmed, on the other hand, prefers to celebrate his birthday quietly at home. |
| Ten eerste is de fiets sneller dan de bus. Ten tweede is hij goedkoper. | Firstly, the bike is faster than the bus. Secondly, it is cheaper. |
| Ten slotte wil ik u bedanken voor uw snelle reactie. | Finally, I would like to thank you for your quick reply. |
| De trein had vertraging en het regende. Kortom, ik kwam een uur te laat op mijn werk. | The train was delayed and it was raining. In short, I was an hour late for work. |
| Al met al was het een geslaagde buurtbarbecue. | All in all, it was a successful neighbourhood barbecue. |
| We moeten Lotte even helpen. Ze werkt hier tenslotte pas een week. | We should give Lotte a hand. After all, she has only been working here for a week. |
Why it works this way
These words are adverbs: words like morgen or vaak that add information inside the sentence. A conjunction, a joining word like maar or en, stands outside the sentence, so the word order stays normal: Maar het plan is duur. An adverb counts as a full part of the sentence. When it takes the first slot, the verb second rule puts the verb right after it, just as with daarom and toch (linking words that invert).
Kortom is the odd one out. It usually works like a label in front of the sentence, so a comma follows and the sentence starts afresh: Kortom, we moeten verhuizen.
Picture your text as a Dutch cycle route. Bovendien and daarnaast say keep going, echter and daarentegen say the road turns, ten eerste to ten slotte are the numbered knooppunten, and kortom tells the reader they have arrived.
As a tendency, bovendien adds an extra argument for the same point (what's more), while daarnaast adds a separate fact (besides that). In everyday writing they often swap without any problem.
Echter and daarentegen belong to written, fairly formal Dutch. In conversation, people mostly say maar or aan de andere kant; an echter over the garden fence sounds like a letter from de gemeente. In formal writing, echter has two other possible positions: right after a fronted subject for a sharp contrast (Joris echter was niet overtuigd.), or at the very start, followed by a comma and normal word order (Echter, de trein had vertraging.). Both are correct, but the position after the verb is the most common and the safest choice.
Remember: echter goes where English puts a mid-sentence however. "The plan is, however, expensive" becomes Het plan is echter duur, without the commas.
Watch out
نادرستBovendien het huis is te klein.
درستBovendien is het huis te klein.
bovendien fills the first place, so the verb comes next
نادرستHet plan is goed, echter het is te duur.
درستHet plan is goed, maar het is te duur.
echter cannot join two sentences after a comma the way maar does
نادرستTenslotte wil ik u bedanken voor uw hulp.
درستTen slotte wil ik u bedanken voor uw hulp.
finally is two words; tenslotte means after all
نادرستOp de andere hand is een huurhuis flexibeler.
درستAan de andere kant is een huurhuis flexibeler.
Dutch uses kant, side, not hand
Quick check
- Choose bovendien or daarentegen: Joris is blij met zijn nieuwe appartement. Het is ruim en licht. ... is de huur lager dan hij had verwacht.
- Fix the word order and keep al met al at the start: Al met al het was een nuttige vergadering.
- Add echter to the second sentence, directly after the verb: Mei wilde de trein van acht uur nemen. De trein was vol.
- Sanne ends her farewell speech. Choose ten slotte or tenslotte: ... wil ik jullie allemaal bedanken voor de fijne samenwerking.
نمایش پاسخها
- Bovendien: both facts are plus points for the flat, so there is nothing to contrast.
- Al met al was het een nuttige vergadering. The verb follows al met al directly.
- De trein was echter vol. Echter comes straight after the verb was.
- Ten slotte: two words means finally; tenslotte means after all.
Use it today
Write a five-sentence message to a friend about your neighbourhood: two good points with ten eerste and bovendien, one drawback with echter, and a final verdict with kortom. Then check that every verb stands where this lesson puts it.