Word
本 を 読んだ あと、 本棚 に しまいます。hon o yonda ato, hondana ni shimaimasu.
Meaning
After reading a book, I put it away on the bookshelf.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of hon o yonda ato, hondana ni shimaimasu.
本hon
book
をo
direct object particle
読むyomu
to read
あとato
after
Questions & Answers about hon o yonda ato, hondana ni shimaimasu.
Why is it 読んだあと and not 読むあと?
Because あと means after, and when a verb comes before あと, Japanese usually uses:
- verb in plain past form + あと
So:
- 読んだあと = after reading
This does not mean the whole sentence is in the past. It just shows that the reading happens first, and the next action happens after that.
Compare:
- 食べたあと = after eating
- 見たあと = after seeing
- 帰ったあと = after going home
This is a very common pattern in Japanese.
If 読んだ is past, why does the sentence end with しまいます, which is not past?
Because the two verbs are doing different jobs.
- 読んだ is inside the time expression 読んだあと = after reading
- しまいます is the main verb of the sentence
So the sentence structure is basically:
- [After reading the book], [I put it away on the bookshelf].
The tense of the main action is shown by しまいます.
- しまいます = non-past polite
- しまいました = past polite
That means this sentence could describe:
- a habitual action: I put it away on the bookshelf after reading it
- a future action: I’ll put it away on the bookshelf after reading it
Context tells you which one is meant.
What does the particle を after 本 do?
