VOA慢速英语2020 “After”和“Afterward”的区别

This week, we received a question from Rose in Brazil.She asks,

本周，我们收到来自巴西的罗斯提出的一个问题。她问， 

I would like to know the difference between after and afterward¹ and how I can use both correctly.Besides that, I would like to know if there is a difference between afterwards and afterward.

我想知道“after”和“afterward”的区别，以及如何正确使用它们。除此之外，我还想知道“afterwards”和“afterward”是否有区别。

Thanks in advance. -- Rose, Brazil.

十分感谢。——罗斯，巴西。 

Dear Rose,

亲爱的罗斯， 

You have asked about two words that seem very similar.But they are in fact used differently."After" has many uses in English:it can be used as an adverb, a conjunction², a preposition³ or even a noun⁴.First, I will explain how it is used as an adverb.

你问的这两个单词看起来很相似。但实际上它们的用法不同。“After”在英语中有很多用法：它可以用作副词、连词、介词甚至名词。首先，我将解释它如何用作副词。

The adverb "after" means⁵ following in time or at a later time.Notice that this can be used in the same way you use the word "later."

副词“after”是指“在……以后”或“过一段时间”。注意，这个单词的用法和单词“later”的用法相同。 

She returned from the trip one year after.

一年后她旅行回来了。 

It is probably more common to use "after" as a preposition.It means at a time following, as in these sentences:

“after”用作介词可能更常见。它是指其后的某个时刻， 如下面这些句子所示： 

My brother was born five years after my parents wedding.

我哥哥在父母结婚五年后出生。 

The bus arrives at five minutes after two oclock.

公共汽车两点过五分到达。 

And after is also used as a conjunction, that is, it joins together two ideas in one sentence.

“after”也用作连词，也就是说，它把两个信息整合在一个句子里。 

Dont tell them until after they have had lunch.

等他们吃完午饭再告诉他们。 

Now on to "afterward.""Afterward" is only used as an adverb.It helps describe an action that happens at a later time.

现在来看看“afterward”这个单词。“afterward”只用作副词。它被用来描述一段时间后发生的动作。 

Kai got the job and received a promotion⁶ afterward.

凯得到了这份工作，之后还升职了。 

You may have seen "afterward" with an "s" at the end.This form is much more common in British English and less formal American English.There is no difference in meaning between afterwards and afterward.You may hear:

你可能见过在“afterward”的末尾加上“s”的“afterwards”。这种形式在英式英语中更为常见，美式英语没那么正式。“afterwards”和“afterward”在意思上没有区别。你可能会听到：

Why dont we take her to lunch afterwards?

之后我们带她去吃午饭怎么样？ 

Both "afterward" and "afterwards" can be used in the same way you would use the word later.But "after" has many more uses than these two forms.

“afterward”和“afterwards”的用法与“later”的用法一样。但是“after”的用法比这两种形式多。 

Thats Ask a Teacher for this week.

以上就是本周《名师答疑》的全部内容。 

What question do you have about English?Send us an email at [email protected].

你有什么英语问题吗？那就给我们发邮件到[email protected]。 

Im Jill Robbins.

吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。 

1 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

2 conjunction   

n.联合，连接，接合；连接词

参考例句：

• Two or more sentences may be joined together by a conjunction.两个或两个以上的句子可以用连词连接。
• The conjunction of heavy rains and high winds caused flooding.暴风雨的同时发生引起了洪水泛滥。

3 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

4 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。