Time Prepositions

This page explains some common time prepositions,
as well as touches on the differences between に and で with time.

前(まえ)に

Before doing
Verb dictionary form + 前に

前(まえ) means before. By attaching the time marker に we can specify “the time before” an action. 

Simple present verb + 前に(まえに）is used to indicate something happens before something else.
You can change the tense of the sentence with the last verb.

• 学校に行く前にご飯を食べる – Eat breakfast before going to school.
• 遊ぶ前に勉強した – (I) studied before I played.
• ✖遊んだ前に勉強した – Before played studied. I studied.

You can also use this pattern with nouns that have an implied action:

• 学校の前に勉強した – I studied before (I went to) school.
• デザートの前に寝ます – (I’m going to) sleep before (eating) desert. 

But you should be careful that it isn’t the place marker に

• 学校の前にねこがいた。 – There was a cat before (in front) of the school. 

後(あと)で

After doing
Verb dictionary form + 後で
Verb simple past + 後で

あとで is used identically to 前に, but with the opposite meaning. It uses で.

• 学校に行く後で、家に帰ってたべる。- After I go to school, I’ll go home and eat.
• バスケットボールの後で勉強する – After basketball, I’ll study. 

Unlike 前に you may use a past tense verb; but you must pay attention to the final verb tense:

• 家に帰ったあとでねた。- After I went home, I slept. 
• 家に帰ったあとでねる – After I have gone home, I will sleep. 
• 家に帰る後でねる – After I go home, I will sleep
• 家に帰る後でねた– After I go home, I slept ✖

で and に

Let’s talk about あとで and あとに for a second.

• 後で is the typical usage. で indicates a span, this means “the span of time after x”
• 後に uses point marker に,  and indicates “the point of time (right) after x”

You can use に with 後, but it implies a relationship between the things, typically one right after the other.

• 葉っぱが落ちた後にえだも落ちた – After the leaves fell, the branch fell too. 
• 宿題を終わった後に寝た – I went to bed after finishing my homework. 
• 宿題を終わった後で寝た – I went to bed sometime after finishing my homework. 
  
  

~てから

After doing
Verbて form + から

verb て form +から is used to indicate something happens after doing something else. Like 前に the tense is decided by the last verb. てから is used for a set verb order. 

• 食べてから寝る。Go to bed after eating.
• 勉強してから遊んでいい。It’s ok to play after (you) study.
• 学校に行ってから食べた – Ate after (I) went to school.
• 食べてから遊んでいい – It’s ok to play after you eat.

This pattern is virtually identical in meaning to あとで. There’s no real significant difference, however Verb てから Verb is usually preferred to Verb あとで Verb. 

See also Prepositions