dann

Then: Dann

Level 2

Dann means then: Mir iessen, da gi mer spadséieren. (We will eat, then we will go for a walk.)

How It Works

Two main meanings

Next, after that: Ech kafen e Brout an da ginn ech heem. (I will buy some bread and then go home.)
In that case: Dann ass jo alles an der Rei! (Then everything is fine!)

It can also point to a moment in the future, as in the goodbye Bis dann! (See you then!).

Word order
Like any first element, dann sends the conjugated verb to second place, before the subject: da gi mer, dann hunn ech, never dann mir ginn. See word order basics. After an (and) the same rule applies, because an itself does not count: … an da ginn ech heem.

After a wann clause
A wann clause can be picked up again with dann. The verb still comes right after it: Wann et reent, da bleiwen ech doheem. (If it rains, then I will stay at home.) You can also leave dann out: Wann et reent, bleiwen ech doheem.

Dann or da?
By the n-rule, the n is dropped before most consonants and kept before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z: da gi mer, da bleiwen ech, but dann ass, dann hunn ech.

Dann or dunn?
Dann is used for the present and the future. To tell what happened next in a story about the past, Luxembourgish uses dunn: Mir hu giess, dunn hu mer e Film gekuckt.

Examples (5)

Mir iessen, da gi mer spadséieren.
We will eat, then we will go for a walk.
Word by Word: We eat, then go we walk.
Da comes first in its clause, so the verb gi comes next. Dann becomes da and ginn becomes gi before a consonant.
Ech kafen e Brout an da ginn ech heem.
I will buy some bread and then go home.
Word by Word: I buy a bread and then go I home.
An (and) does not take up a place, so da is still followed directly by the verb.
Muer schaffen ech bis véier Auer, dann hunn ech Zäit.
Tomorrow I work until four o'clock, then I have time.
Word by Word: Tomorrow work I until four hour, then have I time.
Dann keeps its n before the h of hunn.
Wann et reent, da bleiwen ech doheem.
If it rains, then I will stay at home.
Word by Word: If it rains, then stay I at home.
Da picks up the wann clause, and the verb bleiwen follows it.
Dann ass jo alles an der Rei!
Then everything is fine!
Word by Word: Then is indeed everything in the order!
Here dann means in that case. It keeps its n before the vowel of ass.

Common Mistakes

Putting the subject before the verb after dann.
Ech kafen e Brout an dann ech ginn heem.
Ech kafen e Brout an da ginn ech heem.
Dann is the first element of its clause, so the verb comes right after it and the subject follows the verb.
Writing dann before a consonant where the n-rule drops the n.
Dann gi mer an de Kino.
Da gi mer an de Kino.
The official spelling drops the final n before g and most other consonants. Keep it only before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z, as in dann ass and dann hunn.
Using dann to tell what happened next in a past story.
Gëschter hu mer giess, dann hu mer e Film gekuckt.
Gëschter hu mer giess, dunn hu mer e Film gekuckt.
For one event after another in the past, Luxembourgish says dunn. Dann is for the present and the future.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

dannLevel 2Then: Dann

Learn This First

Before Then: Dann, learn If and When: Wann.

wannIf and When: Wann
Dann often answers a wann clause.
Level 2

Words in This Pattern