Precise time connectors: nadat, zodra, totdat, sinds and naarmate
How Dutch time connectors order events and why a completed tense is the safer written choice after nadat and related forms.
Time connectors show whether events come before, after, or during each other. In Nadat Amir het formulier had gecontroleerd, verstuurde hij het (After Amir had checked the form, he sent it), the checking finishes before the sending.
How do Dutch time connectors show which event comes first?
Choose a connector for the time relation, use subordinate-clause word order, and mark a completed earlier event with a completed tense when the sequence requires it.
- Put the two events on a time line. Decide whether the subordinate-clause event happens before, after, up to, or during the main event.
- Choose the precise relation: nadat for after, voordat for before, totdat for an endpoint, or terwijl for overlap.
- Move the verb or verb group to the end of the subordinate clause: nadat Amir het formulier had gecontroleerd.
- When one event is presented as finished before the next, use a completed tense. In a past narrative, that is often had or was plus a past participle.
| Time relation | Connectors | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the main event happens before the clause event | voordat, voor, eer, vooraleer, alvorens | Voordat de balie sluit, haalt Mila haar document op. (Before the service desk closes, Mila collects her document.) |
| the main event continues up to an endpoint | tot, totdat | We wachten totdat de arts ons roept. (We wait until the doctor calls us.) |
| two events overlap | terwijl | Terwijl ik de brief lees, noteer ik de data. (While I read the letter, I note the dates.) |
| two situations last for the same period | zolang, zolang als | U kunt hier blijven zolang het loket open is. (You may stay here for as long as the service desk is open.) |
| a situation continues from an earlier starting point | sinds, sedert | Sinds Lina in Utrecht werkt, reist ze met de trein. (Since Lina started working in Utrecht, she has been travelling by train.) |
| one change develops in proportion to another | naarmate, naargelang | De wachttijd loopt op naarmate meer mensen zich aanmelden. (The waiting time increases as more people register.) |
| the same relation repeats | telkens als | Telkens als de bus te laat is, stuur ik een bericht. (Every time the bus is late, I send a message.) |
Voordat and voor are neutral choices for before. Vooraleer is standard and especially common in Belgium; in the Netherlands it often sounds formal or old-fashioned. Alvorens is formal. It can introduce a full clause, as in alvorens de vergadering begon, or a shortened infinitive clause, which is covered under shortened te-infinitive clauses.
Which tense follows nadat, zodra, nu and toen?
Use a completed tense when nadat, na, zodra, or nu presents one event as finished before the next; in careful writing, this is the safest pattern after nadat.
| Sequence | Safer form | Example and limit |
|---|---|---|
| finished event before another past event | nadat + pluperfect | Nadat Noor de rekening had betaald, ontving ze een bevestiging. (After Noor had paid the bill, she received a confirmation.) |
| finished event before a present or future main event | nadat + perfect | Nadat Noor de rekening heeft betaald, sturen we een bevestiging. (After Noor has paid the bill, we send a confirmation.) |
| immediate next event, with completion made explicit | zodra + completed tense | Zodra de bus is aangekomen, stappen we in. (As soon as the bus has arrived, we board.) |
| immediate or near-simultaneous event | zodra + simple tense | Zodra de bus aankomt, stappen we in. (As soon as the bus arrives, we board.) The simple tense presents the events as touching rather than one as already completed. |
| a finished fact explains the present situation | nu + perfect | Nu ik de brief heb gelezen, begrijp ik de beslissing. (Now that I have read the letter, I understand the decision.) |
| a completed event introduced by past toen | toen + pluperfect | Toen Fatima het dossier had gelezen, belde ze de klant. (Once Fatima had read the file, she called the client.) Ordinary past toen can use a simple past for a simultaneous or immediately following event. |
Na normally stands before a noun phrase: Na de controle verstuurde Amir het formulier (After the check, Amir sent the form). In na het formulier gecontroleerd te hebben, it introduces a shortened perfect infinitive clause; that construction belongs to shortened te-infinitive clauses.
Is the simple past after nadat wrong?
The simple past after nadat occurs, but authorities record that not every speaker accepts it and that its standard status is unsettled. In careful or exam writing, use Nadat Amir het formulier had gecontroleerd, verstuurde hij het. Treat Nadat Amir het formulier controleerde, verstuurde hij het as a dispreferred written variant, not as an impossible Dutch sentence.
When to use it
- Use nadat when the clause event comes first and the main event follows. A completed tense keeps that order explicit.
- Use zodra when the second event follows immediately. Use totdat when an activity continues up to the point named in the clause.
- Use terwijl for overlap, zolang for equal duration, and sinds for a starting point that continues into a later reference time.
- Use naarmate when two changes develop together and telkens als when the same situation repeats.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not turn the careful-writing preference after nadat into a universal ban. Choose the completed tense for your own formal writing and recognise the simple-past variant.
- Keep endpoint and immediate succession separate: Ik wacht totdat de bus komt continues until the bus arrives; Ik stap in zodra de bus komt starts immediately when it arrives.
- Match the register to the text. Neutral voordat works broadly, while alvorens belongs to formal language and vooraleer varies by region and register.
See also
Review the basic choice between toen, als and wanneer, subordinating conjunctions, the pluperfect, and verb-final subordinate-clause order.
- Which sentence is the safest choice in careful writing for two completed past events?
- *Nadat Sam het formulier controleerde, verstuurde hij het.*
- *Nadat Sam het formulier had gecontroleerd, verstuurde hij het.*
- *Nadat Sam het formulier heeft gecontroleerd, verstuurde hij het.*
- *Nadat Sam controleerde het formulier, verstuurde hij het.*
The checking finished before the past act of sending, so the pluperfect *had gecontroleerd* makes the sequence explicit. The simple-past variant occurs, but it is less safe in careful writing.
- Choose the connector for an endpoint: *We blijven binnen ___ de storm voorbij is.*
- *zodra*
- *nadat*
- *totdat*
- *naarmate*
*Totdat* marks the point up to which staying inside continues: until the storm is over.
- Which connector is the neutral broad-use choice for ‘before’ in this sentence? *___ de vergadering begint, zet ik mijn telefoon uit.*
- *Voordat*
- *Alvorens*
- *Nadat*
- *Sinds*
*Voordat* is neutral across contexts. *Alvorens* can also mean ‘before’, but it is formal.
- Which connector shows that one change develops together with another? *De uitleg wordt specifieker ___ de cursus vordert.*
- *totdat*
- *naarmate*
- *alvorens*
- *sinds*
*Naarmate* links two proportional developments: the course advances and the explanation becomes more specific.
- Which statement about *Nadat Amir het formulier controleerde, verstuurde hij het* is accurate?
- It is impossible in every variety of Dutch.
- It is the only correct form in formal writing.
- It can occur, but a completed tense is safer in careful writing.
- It means that the sending happened before the checking.
The simple past after *nadat* is not accepted equally by all speakers. A completed form such as *had gecontroleerd* is the strong careful-writing choice.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 5
Which sentence is the safest choice in careful writing for two completed past events?