あとで Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Conjunction
Essential Meaning: After X
Construction:
- Verb informal past + あとで
- E.g. 話したあとで [After X spoke]
- E.g. 食べたあとで [After X ate]
- Noun + の + あとで
- E.g. コンサートのあとで [After the concert]
Notes:
- あとで (後で in kanji) is a conjunction that simply expresses that one action takes place after another action has taken place (i.e. “After X occurs, Y occurs“). あとで does not necessarily imply that one event immediately follows the other. It simply implies that one event precedes the other temporally.
- In casual speech, で may drop after あと.
- E.g. ご飯を食べたあとすぐ勉強した。[Immediately after I ate, I studied.]
- Be careful not to confuse あとで with てから. The key differences are:
- (1) てから implies the span of time immediately following some action, while あとで implies any span of time following some action (i.e. it doesn’t imply immediacy).
- E.g. 日本へ来てから何年になりますか。[How many years have passed since you came to Japan?]. In this case, the relevant time span is the period beginning immediately after the hearer’s arrival in Japan. Thus, てから is appropriate and あとで is not.
- (2) With てから, the main predicate generally expresses an action under the subject’s immediate control. あとで does not have such a restriction.
- E.g. 私がうちへ帰ったあとで雨が降った。[After I got home, it rained.]. In this case, てから would be unacceptable because the rain is not under the subject’s control.
- (1) てから implies the span of time immediately following some action, while あとで implies any span of time following some action (i.e. it doesn’t imply immediacy).
Example Sentences:
メイソンさんへ日本へ行ったあとで病気になった。[After Mason came to Japan, he got sick.]
私は従業の後で図書館に行った。[After class, I went to the library.]
WILD Examples:
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