JLPT N5 grammar

〜あとでmeaning and usage

Meaning

「あとで」 means that the following action takes place after the preceding action or event.

How to form it

  • verb (ta-form)あとで
  • nounのあとで

How it is used

Means “after”. The verb is always in the た-form, even about the future. On its own, 「あとで」 means “later”. Compared with 「〜てから」, it only states the order in time, without stressing “first A, then B”.

Examples

  1. 朝ご飯を食べ終わったあとでお風呂に入りました。

    After finishing breakfast, I took a bath.

  2. 仕事のあとで、友達と晩ご飯を食べます。

    After work, I'm having dinner with friends.

  3. 映画を見たあとで、お茶を飲みましょう。

    Let's have some tea after the movie.

About the example In 「食べ終わったあとで」, 「あとで」 places the bath after breakfast was finished. 「入りました」 states the later action politely in the past.