La reunión empieza después de la escuela.

The meeting starts after school.

Breakdown of La reunión empieza después de la escuela.

• la escuela: the school
• después de: after
• la reunión: the meeting
• empezar: to start

Questions & Answers about La reunión empieza después de la escuela.

Why is the definite article la used before escuela?

In Spanish, institutions like la escuela, la universidad, or el hospital generally take the definite article because they’re seen as specific or defined places in a generic sense. Even when referring to school in a broad way (not one single school in particular), you typically still use la.

Is empieza interchangeable with comienza in this sentence?

Yes, empieza and comienza are both common verbs that mean begins or starts, so La reunión comienza después de la escuela is equally correct. Empieza might sound a bit more colloquial, while comienza sounds slightly more formal, but you can use them interchangeably in most contexts.

Could I say después la escuela instead of después de la escuela?

No, because después on its own is an adverb meaning afterwards. When you use it to indicate a time reference, you need después de followed by a noun, so it should be después de la escuela.

What if I wanted to say after classes instead of after school?

You could use después de las clases or después de clase—both are commonly heard. Después de las clases implies the time after all classes have finished, whereas después de clase can be used a bit more loosely if referring to a single class or the general class schedule.