# tänne vaan



## Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I have yet to understand the clear meaning of "vaan" as in "tänne vaan" (when someone wants something/someone here).

What difference does it make to add "vaan" in such case?


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## Grumpy Old Man

_Vaan_ has no actual meaning in the collocation. It is just used without any real reason, as far as I know.  There are similar phenomena in other languages. For example, the word _every_ has no meaning in the phrase _every now and then: I see him *[every] now and then*._


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## Gavril

Grumpy Old Man said:


> _Vaan_ has no actual meaning in the collocation. It is just used without any real reason, as far as I know.  There are similar phenomena in other languages. For example, the word _every_ has no meaning in the phrase _every now and then: I see him *[every] now and then*._



I don't agree that _every _is a meaningless word in this context. The phrase _every now and then_ sounds more appropriate in some contexts than _now and then. _For example, if you said _I see him now and then_, it might sound more serious (as if you wished you could see him more often, maybe) than _I see him every now and then_​.

Is the same not true of _tänne _vs. _tänne vaan_? In other words, aren't there contexts in which _tänne vaan _would sound wrong (ehkä liian tylyltä, esimerkiksi) if you removed the word _vaan_?


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## Grumpy Old Man

Gavril said:


> I don't agree that _every _is a meaningless word in this context. The phrase _every now and then_ sounds more appropriate in some contexts than _now and then. _For example, if you said _I see him now and then_, it might sound more serious (as if you wished you could see him more often, maybe) than _I see him every now and then_​.
> 
> Is the same not true of _tänne _vs. _tänne vaan_? In other words, aren't there contexts in which _tänne vaan _would sound wrong (ehkä liian tylyltä, esimerkiksi) if you removed the word _vaan_?


As words and expressions don't always have exactly the same meaning for all people, it is of course perfectly possible that in some contexts _tänne_ and _tänne vaan_ might convey slightly different connotations for some people. For one thing, _tänne vaan_ sounds informal and natural, but that doesn't mean that _tänne_ is unidiomatic. Some sources see no difference between _now and then_ and now and then. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/now+and+then 

No doubt one of them sounds better than the other in some contexts in many people's minds.


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