tomodati wo eki de miokutta ato, hitori de ie ni kaerimasita.

を marks the direct object of the verb. Here, the verb is 見送った, from 見送る, which means to see someone off.

So:

• 友達を見送った = saw my friend off

In other words, 友達 is the person receiving the action of seeing off.

で marks the place where an action happens.

So:

• 駅で見送った = saw someone off at the station

The station is the location of the action, not the destination of movement in this part of the sentence.

A helpful contrast:

• 駅で = at the station / in the station
• 駅に = to the station

Here, the speaker is not saying they went to the station in this sentence; they are saying the seeing-off happened there.

あと means after, and it often follows a verb phrase to mean after doing...

Pattern:

• Verb past plain form + あと = after doing...

So:

• 見送ったあと = after seeing someone off

The action before あと is treated as completed first, and then the next action happens.

Because 見送ったあと means after seeing off, where the first action is completed before the next one happens.

With あと, Japanese commonly uses:

• past plain form + あと for after doing something

So:

• 見送ったあと、帰りました = After seeing my friend off, I went home

Using 見送るあと would not be correct here.

Because the verb before あと is modifying a noun-like word, so Japanese normally uses the plain form, not the polite ます form.

• 見送ったあと is natural
• 見送りましたあと is generally not used in normal sentence structure

The sentence can still end politely with 帰りました, because the final verb sets the overall politeness level.

So this is very common:

• earlier verb in plain form
• final verb in polite form

一人で means alone or by oneself.

So:

• 一人で家に帰りました = went home alone

Here, で is not marking a location. It is part of the expression showing the manner or condition in which the action was done.

Compare:

• 一人で行く = go alone
• みんなで行く = go together with everyone

Because に marks the destination of 帰る.

• 家に帰る = go home
• 学校に帰る = return to school

With verbs of movement like 行く, 来る, and 帰る, に often marks the place you are going to.

You may also see へ:

• 家へ帰る

This is also correct, but に is very common and slightly more direct as a destination marker.

Because Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is clear from context.

So even though English usually needs I, Japanese often omits it:

• 友達を駅で見送ったあと、一人で家に帰りました。

The listener naturally understands that the same person did both actions unless context says otherwise.

A fuller version could be:

• 私は友達を駅で見送ったあと、一人で家に帰りました。

But in normal Japanese, leaving out 私は is very natural.

Yes, 見送る usually means to see someone off—for example, going with them to a station, airport, or door when they leave.

It often has the nuance of:

• accompanying someone to their departure point
• watching them leave
• sending them off

So in this sentence, it suggests more than just seeing the friend. It means the speaker went to the station and was there as the friend departed.

Not completely. Japanese word order is more flexible than English because particles show each word’s role.

This sentence is natural as:

• 友達を駅で見送ったあと、一人で家に帰りました。

But some parts could move around, for example:

• 駅で友達を見送ったあと、一人で家に帰りました。

This still means the same thing.

However, the verb usually comes near the end of its clause, and 見送ったあと should stay together as one unit.

Yes. In Japanese, 駅で clearly belongs to 見送った.

Structure:

• 友達を 駅で 見送った = saw my friend off at the station
• あと = after that
• 一人で 家に 帰りました = went home alone

So the sentence is divided into two action parts:

1. 友達を駅で見送った
2. 一人で家に帰りました

This is a very common way Japanese connects events in sequence.

Not here. In this sentence, 一人で clearly means alone or by oneself.

Sometimes で can mark amount or limit in other contexts, but with 一人 plus an action like 帰る, the usual meaning is:

• 一人で帰る = go home alone

So there is no ambiguity here in normal usage.