---
title: "Linking ideas in writing: bovendien, echter, kortom"
level: B2
chapter: "Style and register"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/linking-ideas
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Linking ideas in writing: bovendien, echter, kortom

To add a point in written Dutch, use _bovendien_ (moreover) or _daarnaast_ (in addition); to contrast, use _echter_ (however) or _daarentegen_ (on the other hand); to wrap up, use _kortom_ (in short) or _al met al_ (all in all). _Ten eerste_ (firstly) and _ten slotte_ (finally) number your arguments. Most of these words are followed straight by the verb when they open a sentence, while _echter_ usually sits after the verb: _Het plan is echter duur._

## 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](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/verb-second) puts the verb right after it, just as with _daarom_ and _toch_ ([linking words that invert](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/linking-adverbs)).

_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](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/formal-informal). 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

- Not: _Bovendien het huis is te klein._ Say: _Bovendien is het huis te klein._ (_bovendien_ fills the first place, so the verb comes next)
- Not: _Het plan is goed, echter het is te duur._ Say: _Het plan is goed, maar het is te duur._ (_echter_ cannot join two sentences after a comma the way _maar_ does)
- Not: _Tenslotte wil ik u bedanken voor uw hulp._ Say: _Ten slotte wil ik u bedanken voor uw hulp._ (finally is two words; _tenslotte_ means after all)
- Not: _Op de andere hand is een huurhuis flexibeler._ Say: _Aan de andere kant is een huurhuis flexibeler._ (Dutch uses _kant_, side, not hand)

## Quick check

1. Choose _bovendien_ or _daarentegen_: _Joris is blij met zijn nieuwe appartement. Het is ruim en licht. ... is de huur lager dan hij had verwacht._
2. Fix the word order and keep _al met al_ at the start: _Al met al het was een nuttige vergadering._
3. Add _echter_ to the second sentence, directly after the verb: _Mei wilde de trein van acht uur nemen. De trein was vol._
4. Sanne ends her farewell speech. Choose _ten slotte_ or _tenslotte_: _... wil ik jullie allemaal bedanken voor de fijne samenwerking._

## Answers

1. _Bovendien_: both facts are plus points for the flat, so there is nothing to contrast.
2. _Al met al was het een nuttige vergadering._ The verb follows _al met al_ directly.
3. _De trein was echter vol._ _Echter_ comes straight after the verb _was_.
4. _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.

## Questions learners ask

**Where does echter go in a Dutch sentence?**

Usually in the middle of the sentence, right after the conjugated verb, as in "Het plan is echter duur." In formal writing it can also open a sentence with a comma and normal word order ("Echter, de trein had vertraging."), but the position after the verb is more common.

**What is the difference between bovendien and daarnaast?**

Both add a point and are followed by the verb when they open a sentence. Bovendien tends to add an extra argument for the same point (what's more), while daarnaast tends to add a separate fact (besides that), though in practice they often swap.

**Is it ten slotte or tenslotte?**

Write ten slotte, as two words, when you mean finally or lastly, for example at the end of a list or a letter. Tenslotte, as one word, means after all: "Ze werkt hier tenslotte pas een week."

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.