then
♦♦♦ then /ð'en/
1 [ADV] ADV with cl, oft prep ADV
Then means at a particular time in the past or in the future.
He wanted to have a source of income after his retirement; until then, he wouldn't require additional money...
The clinic opened for business last October and since then has treated more than 200 people.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
Then is used when you refer to something which was true at a particular time in the past but is not true now.
...the Race Relations Act of 1976 (enacted by the then Labour Government)...
[ADV] ADV group
Then is also an adverb.
Richard Strauss, then 76 years old, suffered through the war years in silence...
3 [ADV] ADV cl/group, ADV before v
You use then to say that one thing happens after another, or is after another on a list.
Add the oil and then the scallops to the pan, leaving a little space for the garlic...
4 [ADV] cl/group ADV
You use then in conversation to indicate that what you are about to say follows logically in some way from what has just been said or implied.
`I wasn't a very good scholar at school.'--`What did you like doing best then?'...
5 [ADV] cl/group ADV
You use then at the end of a topic or at the end of a conversation.
`I'll talk to you on Friday anyway.'--`Yep. Okay then.'
6 [ADV] adv ADV
You use then with words like `now', `well', and `okay', to introduce a new topic or a new point of view.
Now then, you say you walk on the fields out the back?
7 [ADV] ADV cl
You use then to introduce the second part of a sentence which begins with `if'. The first part of the sentence describes a possible situation, and then introduces the result of the situation.
If the answer is `yes', then we must decide on an appropriate course of action...
8 [ADV] ADV cl
You use then at the beginning of a sentence or after `and' or `but' to introduce a comment or an extra piece of information to what you have already said.
He sounded sincere, but then, he always did.
9
now and then: see now
there and then: see there
1 [ADV] ADV with cl, oft prep ADV
Then means at a particular time in the past or in the future.
He wanted to have a source of income after his retirement; until then, he wouldn't require additional money...
The clinic opened for business last October and since then has treated more than 200 people.
2 [ADJ] ADJ n
Then is used when you refer to something which was true at a particular time in the past but is not true now.
...the Race Relations Act of 1976 (enacted by the then Labour Government)...
[ADV] ADV group
Then is also an adverb.
Richard Strauss, then 76 years old, suffered through the war years in silence...
3 [ADV] ADV cl/group, ADV before v
You use then to say that one thing happens after another, or is after another on a list.
Add the oil and then the scallops to the pan, leaving a little space for the garlic...
4 [ADV] cl/group ADV
You use then in conversation to indicate that what you are about to say follows logically in some way from what has just been said or implied.
`I wasn't a very good scholar at school.'--`What did you like doing best then?'...
5 [ADV] cl/group ADV
You use then at the end of a topic or at the end of a conversation.
`I'll talk to you on Friday anyway.'--`Yep. Okay then.'
6 [ADV] adv ADV
You use then with words like `now', `well', and `okay', to introduce a new topic or a new point of view.
Now then, you say you walk on the fields out the back?
7 [ADV] ADV cl
You use then to introduce the second part of a sentence which begins with `if'. The first part of the sentence describes a possible situation, and then introduces the result of the situation.
If the answer is `yes', then we must decide on an appropriate course of action...
8 [ADV] ADV cl
You use then at the beginning of a sentence or after `and' or `but' to introduce a comment or an extra piece of information to what you have already said.
He sounded sincere, but then, he always did.
9
now and then: see now
there and then: see there