بعد أن أكتب الواجب، أقرأ صفحة أخرى من القصة.

After I write the homework, I read another page of the story.

Breakdown of بعد أن أكتب الواجب، أقرأ صفحة أخرى من القصة.

• يقرأ: to read
• أن: (subordinating particle)
• بعد: after
• يكتب: to write

Questions & Answers about بعد أن أكتب الواجب، أقرأ صفحة أخرى من القصة.

What does بعد أن mean in this sentence?

بعد أن means after when it introduces a whole clause.

So:

• بعد أن أكتب الواجب = after I write the homework / after I do my homework
• أقرأ صفحة أخرى من القصة = I read another page from the story

A useful way to think about it is:

• بعد
  • noun = after
• بعد أن
  • verb clause = after (someone does something)

So بعد أن is very common when you want to say after I..., after he..., after they..., etc.

Why is أن used before أكتب?

Here أن introduces the verb clause after بعد.

It also affects the grammar of the following verb: it puts the imperfect verb into the subjunctive.

So:

• basic form: أكتبُ = I write / I am writing
• after أن: أكتبَ

In normal unvoweled Arabic writing, you usually see both written the same way as أكتب, so the difference is often invisible unless full vowel marks are added.

Why are أكتب and أقرأ in the present tense, even though the sentence talks about something that happens later?