Là or puis

Question

The sentence to be translated:
And then, after taking a deep breath,
 
The correct response given is:
Et là, après avoir respiré un grand coup
 
Why is là used? I wanted to use puis but it wasn’t given as an option. 
Would puis work?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour G,
Maarten is correct with the use of "là" compared to the use of "puis / enuite" as the latter ones express a series of events while "et là" implies a very precise moment in a text/situation etc. (meaning, "right there/then").
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

My take on this - in the context she (‘Naomi’) is effectively describing these things as a part of the same event, rather than being seen as a series of events, which puis, or ensuite, would generally indicate. In English ‘and that’s when’ or ‘and then’ or ‘and at that moment’ etc

‘Et là’ ( “ and there “, basically ) is a colloquial French expression in this context - I can tell you it’s used by at least some native French speakers, but can’t give you a specific written reference to it. Alternatively, I would favour “ à ce moment-là “ ahead of puis or ensuite as a translation .

As the primary transcript in English is written though, I think it is quite open to the listener/reader to interpret this as a series of events, and translate accordingly - which would include using ‘puis’ or ‘ensuite’ - given ‘and then, after…’. Such an interpretation would not be at all unusual for native English speakers in my opinion.