And – Then
I often confuse the words AND and THEN. It’s only upon editing that I catch this particularly annoying mistake.
I’m here to shed some light on it, and maybe burn it into my brain a bit.
“Joe ran forward and picked up the fallen sword.”
“Joe ran forward then picked up the fallen sword.”
9 times out of 10 I’m going to write the first sentence, yet, it’s not correct. One can not be running forward while simultaneously picking up a sword. Well, technically it’s possible, it’s not likely and creates an odd image in the mind while reading. (And we don’t want a break in the immersion.)
Rule: If a character is doing one thing, then does another, use THEN.
If a character is doing two things at once, use AND.
“Joe chewed his gum and rubbed his belly.”
