This week, we received a question from Rose in Brazil. She asks,
本周,我们收到来自巴西的罗斯提出的一个问题。她问,
I would like to know the difference between after and afterward and how I can use both correctly.
我想知道"after"和"afterward"的区别,以及如何正确使用它们。
Besides that, I would like to know if there is a difference between afterwards and afterward.
除此之外,我还想知道"afterwards"和"afterward"是否有区别。
Thanks in advance. -- Rose, Brazil.
十分感谢。—— 罗斯,巴西。
Dear Rose, You have asked about two words that seem very similar.
亲爱的罗斯,你问的这两个单词看起来很相似。
But they are in fact used differently.
但实际上它们的用法不同。
"After" has many uses in English: it can be used as an adverb, a conjunction, a preposition or even a noun.
"After"在英语中有很多用法:它可以用作副词、连词、介词甚至名词。
First, I will explain how it is used as an adverb.
首先,我将解释它如何用作副词。
The adverb "after" means following in time or at a later time.
副词"after"是指"在……以后"或"过一段时间"。
Notice that this can be used in the same way you use the word "later."
注意,这个单词的用法和单词"later"的用法相同。
She returned from the trip one year after.
一年后她旅行回来了。
It is probably more common to use "after" as a preposition.
"after"用作介词可能更常见。
It means at a time following, as in these sentences:
它是指其后的某个时刻, 如下面这些句子所示:
My brother was born five years after my parents' wedding.
我哥哥在父母结婚五年后出生。
The bus arrives at five minutes after two o'clock.
公共汽车两点过五分到达。
And after is also used as a conjunction, that is, it joins together two ideas in one sentence.
"after"也用作连词,也就是说,它把两个信息整合在一个句子里。
Don't tell them until after they have had lunch.
等他们吃完午饭再告诉他们。
Now on to "afterward." "Afterward" is only used as an adverb.
现在来看看"afterward"这个单词。"afterward"只用作副词。
It helps describe an action that happens at a later time.
它被用来描述一段时间后发生的动作。
Kai got the job and received a promotion afterward.
凯得到了这份工作,之后还升职了。
You may have seen "afterward" with an "s" at the end.
你可能见过在"afterward"的末尾加上"s"的"afterwards"。
This form is much more common in British English and less formal American English.
这种形式在英式英语中更为常见,美式英语没那么正式。
There is no difference in meaning between afterwards and afterward. You may hear:
"afterwards"和"afterward"在意思上没有区别。你可能会听到:
Why don't we take her to lunch afterwards?
之后我们带她去吃午饭怎么样?
Both "afterward" and "afterwards" can be used in the same way you would use the word later.
"afterward"和"afterwards"的用法与"later"的用法一样。
But "after" has many more uses than these two forms.
但是"after"的用法比这两种形式多。
That's Ask a Teacher for this week.
以上就是本期名师答疑的全部内容。
I'm Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。