قبل از and بعد از | Farsi Grammar

The compound prepositions قبل از qabl az “before” and بعد از ba'd az “after” locate one event relative to a noun phrase: قبل از جلسه “before the meeting,” بعد از ناهار “after lunch.” When the reference point is a full finite clause, Persian adds اینکه: قبل از اینکه جلسه شروع شود “before the meeting starts.”

Their internal order is fixed. English uses one word before its complement, while Persian builds the relation from a temporal noun (قبل/بعد) plus از. The following complement supplies the reference point; the main event is placed earlier or later than that point.

Construction map

Pattern	Complement type	Meaning	Register
قبل از + noun phrase	event, time, person, nominalized action	before	all registers
بعد از + noun phrase	event, time, person, nominalized action	after	all registers
قبل از اینکه + finite clause	event expressed as a clause	before … happens/happened	neutral standard
بعد از اینکه + finite clause	event expressed as a clause	after … happens/happened	neutral standard
پیش از / پس از	same broad complement types	before / after	formal, literary

There is no ezâfe between قبل/بعد and از: say qabl az, not qabl-e az. Ezâfe can still occur inside the complement, as in قبل از شروعِ جلسه qabl az shoru'-e jalase.

Current Persian also permits a separate compact construction with ezâfe and no از: قبلِ جلسه qabl-e jalase, بعدِ ناهار ba'd-e nâhâr. It is especially common in speech and compressed prose. This is not an unlinked deletion of از: the audible ezâfe replaces the از construction as the connector to the noun phrase.

Noun-phrase reference points

The simplest complement is an event noun, meal, clock time, or other temporal landmark.

قبل از جلسه ایمیل‌های ضروری را جواب دادم.

qabl az jalase imeyl-hâ-ye zaruri râ javâb dâdam.

I answered the urgent emails before the meeting. (neutral standard)

بعد از ناهار کمی در پارک قدم زدیم.

ba'd az nâhâr kami dar pârk qadam zadim.

After lunch, we walked in the park for a while. (neutral standard)

دارو را قبل از خواب با یک لیوان آب بخورید.

dâru râ qabl az khâb bâ yek livân-e âb bekhorid.

Take the medicine before bed with a glass of water. (formal/polite instruction)

The temporal phrase can appear initially to establish a frame or immediately before the predicate for neutral background timing. Persian word order is discourse-sensitive; initial placement is not required merely because English begins with before or after.

باید بعد از کار به داروخانه بروم.

bâyad ba'd az kâr be dârukhâne beravam.

I need to go to the pharmacy after work. (neutral standard)

Internal ezâfe in complex complements

When the reference point itself contains a noun relation, preserve its ezâfe. Compare short قبل از پرواز with expanded قبل از زمانِ پرواز. The preposition governs the entire phrase, while ezâfe organizes the phrase internally.

قبل از شروع برنامه تلفن‌های همراه را خاموش کنید.

qabl az shoru'-e barnâme telefon-hâ-ye hamrâh râ khâmush konid.

Before the program begins, turn off mobile phones. (formal/polite announcement)

بعد از پایان دوره گواهی شرکت برایتان صادر می‌شود.

ba'd az pâyân-e dowre gavâhi-ye sherkat barâ-yetân sâder mi-shavad.

After the course ends, a certificate of participation will be issued for you. (formal)

The audible link in شروعِ برنامه and پایانِ دوره belongs to the nominal complement. Omitting it would break the intended noun relationship.

Time measurements: how long before or after

A duration placed before قبل از/بعد از measures the interval between the two events: دو ساعت قبل از پرواز, سه روز بعد از عمل. It does not replace از.

دو ساعت قبل از پرواز در فرودگاه بودیم.

do sâ'at qabl az parvâz dar forudgâh budim.

We were at the airport two hours before the flight. (neutral standard)

سه روز بعد از عمل دوباره با پزشک ملاقات کرد.

se ruz ba'd az amal dubâre bâ pezeshk molâqât kard.

He or she met the doctor again three days after the operation. (neutral standard)

English can place the measurement after the event phrase in some constructions. Persian's compact neutral order keeps the measure immediately before قبل/بعد.

Pronouns and recoverable reference points

Use an independent demonstrative after از when the reference event is textual or contrastive: قبل از آن “before that,” بعد از این “after this/from now on.” In speech, قبلش and بعدش compactly retrieve an accessible event (informal-neutral).

اول گزارش را کامل کنیم؛ بعد از آن درباره‌ی بودجه تصمیم می‌گیریم.

avval gozâresh râ kâmel konim; ba'd az ân darbâre-ye budje tasmim mi-girim.

Let's finish the report first; after that, we'll decide about the budget. (neutral standard)

جلسه طولانی بود؛ بعدش مستقیم رفتم خونه.

jalase tulâni bud; ba'd-esh mostaqim raftam khune.

The meeting was long; afterward I went straight home. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The clitic attaches to its host: بعدش, not بعد ش. This compact form does not contain overt از; learn it as the pronominal adverbial counterpart, not as permission to delete از before ordinary nouns.

Finite clauses with اینکه

A noun phrase cannot carry its own subject and finite verb. Add اینکه when the reference point is a full clause: قبل از اینکه مهمان‌ها برسند “before the guests arrive.”

قبل از اینکه از خانه بیرون بروی، پنجره‌ها را ببند.

qabl az inke az khâne birun beravi, panjare-hâ râ beband.

Before you leave the house, close the windows. (neutral standard)

قبل از اینکه مهمان‌ها برسند، میز را چیدیم.

qabl az inke mehmân-hâ berasand, miz râ chidim.

Before the guests arrived, we set the table. (neutral standard)

بعد از اینکه باران بند آمد، راه افتادیم.

ba'd az inke bârân band âmad, râh oftâdim.

After the rain stopped, we set off. (completed factual sequence)

قبل از اینکه frequently selects a subjunctive form because the later boundary is viewed as pending relative to the main event: بروی، برسند. بعد از اینکه commonly introduces a completed factual event and therefore readily takes indicative past آمد. This is a strong tendency, not a mechanical translation rule; tense, aspect, negation, and viewpoint can change the choice. The dedicated Before and After Clauses page develops it.

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Choose the complement first. Use قبل/بعد از + noun phrase for a named event or nominalized action, and add اینکه only when a finite clause follows.

Nominalized action versus clause

When the subject is obvious or irrelevant, a nominalized infinitive produces a compact alternative: قبل از رفتن “before leaving,” بعد از رسیدن “after arriving.” The infinitive functions as a noun after the preposition and does not carry person agreement.

قبل از رفتن چراغ آشپزخانه را خاموش کردم.

qabl az raftan cherâgh-e âshpazkhâne râ khâmush kardam.

Before leaving, I turned off the kitchen light. (same understood subject)

بعد از رسیدن قطار به هتل زنگ بزن.

ba'd az residan-e qatâr be hotel zang bezan.

Call the hotel after the train arrives. (رسیدن has an explicit nominal possessor/subject قطار)

The second example shows that an infinitive can take an ezâfe-linked notional subject: رسیدنِ قطار “the train's arrival.” Full person and mood contrasts belong to finite اینکه clauses.

Formal alternatives پیش از and پس از

پیش از and پس از are current formal or literary alternatives. Administrative and academic prose often favors پس از بررسی مدارک over conversational بعد از بررسی مدارک. They do not change the temporal logic.

پس از بررسی مدارک نتیجه به متقاضی اعلام می‌شود.

pas az barrasi-ye madârek natije be motaqâzi e'lâm mi-shavad.

After the documents are reviewed, the result is announced to the applicant. (formal/administrative)

Common Mistakes

1. Omitting از without pronouncing the compact ezâfe alternative

❌ بعد ناهار کمی قدم زدیم.

ba'd nâhâr kami qadam zadim

Incorrect reading — without از, the current compact alternative requires audible ezâfe: بعدِ ناهار.

✅ قبل جلسه با مدیر تماس گرفتم.

qabl-e jalase bâ modir tamâs gereftam.

I contacted the manager before the meeting. (compact current alternative with ezâfe)

✅ قبل از جلسه‌ی صبح با مدیر تماس گرفتم.

qabl az jalase-ye sobh bâ modir tamâs gereftam.

I contacted the manager before the morning meeting.

2. Inserting ezâfe before از

❌ بعده از ناهار قدم زدیم.

Incorrect — بعد and از form the fixed sequence بعد از; no ه spells an ezâfe there.

✅ بعد از ناهار کنار رودخانه قدم زدیم.

ba'd az nâhâr kenâr-e rudkhâne qadam zadim.

After lunch, we walked beside the river.

3. Putting a finite clause directly after از

❌ قبل از جلسه شروع شود وارد شوید.

Incorrect — a finite clause after قبل از requires اینکه.

✅ قبل از اینکه سخنرانی شروع شود وارد سالن شوید.

qabl az inke sokhanrâni shoru' shavad vâred-e sâlon shavid.

Enter the hall before the lecture begins.

4. Copying English future into a future time clause

❌ بعد از اینکه خواهم رسید تماس می‌گیرم.

Incorrect — Persian does not use the future auxiliary this way inside the completed time boundary.

✅ بعد از اینکه رسیدم با شما تماس می‌گیرم.

ba'd az inke residam bâ shomâ tamâs mi-giram.

I'll contact you after I arrive. (polite standard)

5. Separating an attached clitic

❌ جلسه تمام شد و بعد ش رفتیم.

Incorrect spelling — the recoverable reference clitic attaches directly to بعد.

✅ کار تمام شد و بعدش برای شام رفتیم بیرون.

kâr tamâm shod va ba'd-esh barâ-ye shâm raftim birun.

The work finished, and afterward we went out for dinner. (informal-neutral)

Key Takeaways

Use قبل از/بعد از + noun phrase to place an event before or after a reference point.
Keep از in the قبل از/بعد از compounds; compact قبلِ جلسه/بعدِ جلسه is a separate ezâfe-linked alternative, not an unlinked form.
Measurements precede the compound: دو ساعت قبل از پرواز.
Add اینکه before a finite clause; قبل از اینکه commonly favors subjunctive, while factual بعد از اینکه readily takes indicative forms.
Compact قبلش/بعدش retrieve an accessible event, while پیش از/پس از are formal alternatives.

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