then

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   At that particular time in the past or future.

   Grammar: Refers back or ahead to a time already mentioned: I was young then.

   Patterns

   • back then
   • until then
   • by then

   I lived in Madrid then.

   We'll be ready by then.

   Phones were big and slow back then.

2. 2adverbnot comparable

   Next, after something else, in a sequence of events.

   Grammar: Used to order actions: first this, then that.

   Patterns

   • and then
   • first X, then Y

   Chop the onions, then fry them.

   She finished dinner and then watched a movie.

   First we drove to the lake, then we walked around it.

3. 3adverbnot comparable

   In that case, as a result or consequence, often after if.

   Grammar: Introduces the result: if it rains, then we stay in.

   Patterns

   • if something, then something

   If you finish early, then you can go home.

   If prices rise, then fewer people will buy.

   You don't like it, then why did you order it?

4. 4adverbnot comparable

   Also, or in addition.

   Grammar: Used to add a further point: there's the cost, then the time.

   Patterns

   • and then there is something

   It's expensive, and then there's the delivery fee.

   He needs a car, then a license.

   The soup is good, and then the dessert is even better.

5. 5adjectivebefore a nounformal

   Existing or in office at that earlier time, used before a noun.

   Grammar: Always placed before a noun, often with a job title: the then president.

   Patterns

   • the then president
   • the then owner

   The then mayor opened the bridge.

   She met the then champion.

   The then owner sold the shop in 1998.

Common combinations

back then

Back then we had no internet.

until then

Until then, please wait here.

and then some

He gave his best, and then some.

now and then

We meet for coffee now and then.

if so, then

If so, then we should leave now.

Synonyms and how they differ

next

Next works for sequence and sounds more precise but cannot show a consequence like then.

afterward

Afterward emphasizes a later time than something just mentioned, but is more formal.

therefore

Therefore shows a logical result and is more formal than then in conditional sentences.

at that time

At that time is the longer, more formal version of then for time reference.

Opposites

Word family

thenceforth adverb

from that time on, in formal or old-fashioned writing

thence adverb

from that place, in old-fashioned writing

since then phrase

from that time until now

Commonly confused: then or than?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “then”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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