afterwards
part of speech
adverb
meaning for a pupil
Afterwards means later, after something else has happened. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and recounts, «afterwards» is a time connective that helps put events in order: first, then, next, afterwards, finally. In maths problems, it signals the second step: «She had 12 sweets. Afterwards she ate 5» → 12 − 5. In everyday life, «Let's tidy up first and play afterwards». Phrases: «soon afterwards», «shortly afterwards», «long afterwards», «straight afterwards».
examples
- We went swimming and afterwards had ice cream. tree →
- Wash your hands afterwards. tree →
- I didn't feel well, but afterwards I was fine. tree →
- Soon afterwards, it started to rain. tree →
- Do your homework first; you can play afterwards. tree →
- Tom had 20 stickers; afterwards he gave away 8. tree →
- They argued, but they said sorry afterwards. tree →
- Long afterwards, the children still remembered the trip. tree →
- Not long afterwards the two brothers arrived. tree →
note
British and Australian English usually say «afterwards»; American English often says «afterward». It is an adverb, so it does not need an object: «after lunch» but «afterwards» alone. In maths problems, events after «afterwards» happen second.
In the corpora
- Afterwards everyone goes to the pub, and some people even laugh while telling stories about Grandad.
- Feeling very sad afterwards is normal, because a pet is part of the family.
- The Rat: «You know I shouldn't like you to blame me afterwards and say I had forgotten anything!»
- Afterwards the Rat and Badger take him by both arms into the smoking-room.
- Spinning round fast confuses the balance organ in your inner ear, and that is why you feel dizzy afterwards.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «afterwards» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.