LEARN + JAPANESE / 20 of 186 JLPT N5
First This, Then That 前に・あとで
You check the forecast before work and walk the dog after dinner. 前に takes the dictionary form; あとで takes the past た-form. Together, they make the sequence easy to follow.
I get dressed before reading the newspaper.
I water the flowers, then walk the dog.
Hint · 힌트
前に always takes the dictionary form even in a past-tense sentence, 食べる前に行きました, “I went before eating,” never 食べた前に. あとで works the opposite way, always the past た-form, even when the whole sentence describes a habit or the future, 食べた後で寝ます.
I check the weather forecast before going to the office.
I check my email after arriving at the office.
Hint · 힌트
Attached to a noun instead of a verb, both just need の between them, 授業の前に, パーティーの後で, “before class,” “after the party,” a much simpler pattern than the verb forms above.
In formal announcements, noun + に先立[さきだ]ち means “prior to / before,” usually for an important event: 開会に先立ち, “before the opening.” Noun + 後[ご]の + noun describes the period or state after an event, as in 退院後の生活, “life after discharge.”
Before the opening, the organizers will give an explanation.
一旦[いったん] means “once” or “for now” and marks a pause or first step before what follows: 一旦ここで休んで、あとで再開しましょう, “Let’s pause here for now and resume later.”
In Real Life
に先立ち is common in formal schedules and event notices. 一旦 is useful in everyday planning when you want to pause, check something, or finish one step before moving on.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to get changed | |
| to water (a plant) | |
| to take a walk | |
| weather forecast | |
| to arrive | |
| to check | |
| opening of an event | |
| for something to start | |
| to end, finish | |
| to leave, exit | |
| class, lesson | |
| party | |
| order, sequence | |
| plan, schedule | |
| right before | |
| right after | |
| to prepare | |
| organizer | |
| to sleep, go to bed | |
| at the same time |
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