What is the difference between てから and たあとで?
Today’s post is about how to use grammar points てから and たあとで. Both てから and たあとで are JLPT N5 grammar points, used to show the sequence of two events.
A (verb) てから B
After A, B; B happens after A
A (verb) たあとで B OR A (noun) のあとで B
After A, B; B happens after A
Both of them allow you to link two phrases each other, although they require slightly different conjugations.
Let’s look at two actions that we want to link together in one sentence.
Action A is going to be 本を読みました/ ほんをよみました = I read a book
Action B is going to be 寝ました/ ねました = I went to sleep
With てから, you conjugate the verb at the end of action A into the て form and add the word から, and then add action B.
よみます (よむ in plain form) becomes よんで in the て form. Therefore the sentence becomes:
ほんをよんでから、ねました.
To use たあとで, you need to conjugate the verb into the た form and add あとで before adding action B. If you’ve mastered the て form, then the た form is super easy – just replace the て with た.
Action A can also be a noun, which can be linked to あとで by using the possessive particle の in between.
Using the same example above:
よみます (よむ in plain form) becomes よんで in て form and therefore よんだ in た form. Therefore this time the sentence is:
ほんをよんだあとで、ねました
What is the difference between te kara and ta atode?
てから
てから is used when the second action (B) is going to happen straight after the first (A). In a lot of A てから B sentences, action B is only possible after completing action A. For that reason, it is useful when you want to express actions that take place in a specific order, such as in your daily routine.
A good way to remember this is to think of how the word から can be used on its own to mean ‘after’, ‘since’ or ‘from’ in English.
Further examples:
- コンビニで買物（かいもの）をしてから、うちに帰（かえ）りました。
- 毎朝（まいあさ）おきてからオレンジジュースを飲（の）みます。
- きっぷを買（か）ってからおんせんに入（はい）りましす。
- しごとが終（お）わってから、昼ご飯（ひるごはん）を食（た）べました。
たあとで
たあとで on the other
Taking the example sentence we used before:
ほんをよんでから、ねました
= I went to bed after reading a book
ほんをよんだあとで、ねました hon wo yonda atode, nemashita.
= I went to bed after reading a book (but between reading and going to bed I did other things, eg. brushed my teeth)
たあとで can also have the nuance of emphasising the fact that action B takes place after A (and not before). It’s good to remember that this grammar point uses the た form, which is the past tense in plain form.
For instance, there is a famous book/
Further examples:
- しゅくだいをしたあとで、ケーキを食（た）べましょう。
- じゅぎょうのあとで、先生（せんせい）に質問（しつもん）をします。
- 高校生（こうこうせい）になったあとで、ピアノを習（なら）いました。
- ひらがなを勉強（べんきょう）したあとで、カタカナを勉強（べんきょう）します。
Vocabulary list:
本・ほん book
宿題・しゅくだい homework
食べる・たべる [godan verb] to eat
授業・じゅぎょう lesson
先生・せんせい teacher
質問・しつもん question –> 質問をする to ask a question
高校生・こうこうせい high school student
習う・ならう [godan verb] to learn –> ピアノを習う to learn (how to play) the piano
勉強・べんきょう study –> …を勉強する to study…
謎・なぞ mystery –> 謎を解く・なぞをとく to solve a mystery
買い物・かいもの shopping –> 買い物する to go shopping
切符・きっぷ ticket
仕事・しごと work, job
I haven’t written one of these posts in a very long time – the last one was almost 2 years ago! I hope someone finds this useful. If you have any feedback, please let me know in the comments!
