The difference between After and Before
When used as conjunctions, after means ., whereas before means in advance of the time when.
When used as prepositions, after means subsequently to, whereas before means earlier than (in time).
When used as adverbs, after means behind, whereas before means at an earlier time.
After is also adjective with the meaning: later.
check bellow for the other definitions of After and Before
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After as an adverb:
Behind; later in time; following.
Examples:
"They lived happily ever after."
"I left the room, and the dog bounded after."
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After as a preposition:
Subsequently to; following in time; later than.
Examples:
"We had a few beers after the game."
"The time is quarter after eight."
"The Cold War began shortly after the Second World War."
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After as a preposition:
Behind.
Examples:
"He will leave a trail of destruction after him."
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After as a preposition:
In pursuit of, seeking.
Examples:
"He's after a job; run after him; inquire after her health."
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After as a preposition:
In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing.
Examples:
"We named him after his grandfather; a painting after Leonardo da Vinci."
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After as a preposition:
Next in importance or rank.
Examples:
"The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince."
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After as a preposition:
As a result of.
Examples:
"'After your bad behaviour, you will be punished."
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After as a preposition:
In spite of.
Examples:
"'After all that has happened, he is still my friend."
"I can't believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!"
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After as a preposition (Irish, usually, preceded by a form of ''be'', followed by an -ing form of a verb):
Examples:
"I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door."
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After as a preposition (dated):
According to an author or text.
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After as a preposition:
Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.
Examples:
"to look after workmen; to enquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness"
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After as a preposition (obsolete):
According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting.
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After as an adjective (dated):
Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent
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After as an adjective (nautical, where the frame of reference is within the ship):
At or towards the stern of a ship.
Examples:
"The after gun is mounted aft."
"The after gun is abaft the forward gun."
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Before as a preposition:
Earlier than (in time).
Examples:
"I want this done before Monday."
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Before as a preposition:
In front of in space.
Examples:
"He stood before me."
"We sat before the fire to warm ourselves."
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Before as a preposition:
In the presence of.
Examples:
"He performed before the troops in North Africa."
"He spoke before a joint session of Congress."
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Before as a preposition:
Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).
Examples:
"The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule."
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Before as a preposition:
In store for, in the future of (someone).
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Before as a preposition:
In front of, according to a formal system of ordering items.
Examples:
"In alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog", "canine" before feline"."
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Before as a preposition:
At a higher or greater position than, in a ranking.
Examples:
"An entrepreneur puts market share and profit before quality, an amateur intrinsic qualities before economical considerations."
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Before as an adverb:
At an earlier time.
Examples:
"I've never done this before."
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Before as an adverb:
In advance.
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Before as an adverb:
At the front end.