Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Después de haber comprado las entradas, fuimos al cine. - After having bought the tickets, we went to the cinema.

Both are correct. Después de comprar (las entradas) is the everyday option. Después de haber comprado (las entradas) uses the “perfect infinitive” to make the prior completion of the action extra explicit or a bit more formal. In most contexts there’s no real difference in meaning:

Después de comprar las entradas, fuimos al cine.
Después de haber comprado las entradas, fuimos al cine.

Is the de after después mandatory here?

Yes, when después is followed by a noun or an infinitive, you need de: después de comprar… If you use a full clause with a conjugated verb, it becomes después de que… And if you use it as a standalone adverb, you drop everything: Después, fuimos al cine.

Can I say Después de que compramos/compráramos las entradas, fuimos al cine?

Yes. With después de que, you can use the indicative for real, completed past events:

Después de que compramos las entradas, fuimos al cine.

You use the subjunctive when the action is projected into the future or seen as hypothetical:

Saldremos después de que compres las entradas.

Note: In many American varieties you’ll also hear después que (without de). In Spain, después de que is the standard form.

Does después de + infinitive require the same subject as the main verb?

Yes. With después de + infinitive, the understood subject of the infinitive is the same as that of the main verb:

Después de comprar las entradas, fuimos… (we bought; we went)

If the subjects differ, use después de que + a conjugated verb:

Después de que ellos compraron/compraran las entradas, fuimos al cine.

Why can’t I say después de comprando?

Because in Spanish the gerund (-ando/-iendo) cannot be used after a preposition like de. After prepositions, Spanish uses the infinitive:

Correct: después de comprar
Incorrect: después de comprando

Shouldn’t comprado agree with las entradas and be compradas?

Not in this structure. With haber (compound tenses and the perfect infinitive), the past participle is invariable:

haber comprado (not “haber compradas”)

It only agrees when it’s an adjective:

las entradas compradas (“the tickets that were bought”)

If I replace las entradas with a pronoun, where does it go?

Attach it to the infinitive:

Simple infinitive: Después de comprarlas, fuimos al cine.
Perfect infinitive: Después de haberlas comprado, fuimos al cine.

Don’t put it before fuimos in this case, because the object belongs to the subordinate infinitive phrase.

Why is it fuimos and not íbamos?

Fuimos (preterite) = a single, completed event (we went).
Íbamos (imperfect) = habitual/ongoing or background (“we were going”/“we used to go”). Here, a single completed trip is being narrated, so fuimos fits.

Could I say hemos ido al cine instead of fuimos al cine?

In Spain, the present perfect (hemos ido) is common for past events connected to the present time frame (often “today/this evening”). Without a time marker, both can work, but:

Fuimos feels like a finished event in the past.
Hemos ido hints at present relevance or same-day timing.

Is the comma after the introductory phrase necessary?

It’s standard and recommended to use a comma after an initial adverbial phrase like this:

Después de haber comprado las entradas, fuimos al cine. If you place the time phrase at the end, a comma is usually not needed:
Fuimos al cine después de haber comprado las entradas.

What does al mean in al cine?

It’s the contraction of a + el: a el cine → al cine. Spanish always contracts a + el and de + el to al and del, except when él is the pronoun (e.g., a él) or when El is part of a proper name (e.g., a El Salvador).

Why is it al cine and not a cine?

Spanish typically uses the article with places/institutions after ir a: al cine, al banco, al hospital. Some set expressions don’t take the article (a casa, a clase, a misa), but cine uses it.

Is cine the same as película?

No. Cine is the movie theater/the cinema (the place or the art form). Película is the film itself.

Ir al cine = go to the cinema.
Ver una película = watch a movie.

Is entradas the right word for “tickets” in Spain?

Yes. In Spain, entradas is standard for event tickets (cinema, theater, concerts). Other variants:

boletos (Latin America)
tiquetes/tiquetes (some countries in Latin America)
billetes in Spain is typically for travel (train, bus) or banknotes, not cinema. Verb choice: comprar or very commonly sacar in Spain (sacar entradas).

Can I use tras or luego de instead of después de?

Tras
- infinitive is a good, slightly more formal/literary synonym: Tras haber comprado las entradas…
Luego de is frequent in Latin America; in Spain, después de or tras is preferred. Note that luego on its own in Spain usually means “then/afterwards.”

Why does después have an accent?

Because the stress falls on the last syllable (-pués), but words ending in a vowel or -n/-s are normally stressed on the penultimate syllable. The accent mark indicates the irregular stress: des-pués.

Can I move the time phrase to the end: Fuimos al cine después de haber comprado las entradas?

Yes. Word order is flexible here. Placing the phrase first or last doesn’t change the meaning. When it’s at the end, you usually don’t add a comma.

Do I have to say las entradas? What about unas entradas or just entradas?

las entradas: the specific tickets already known in context (natural here).
unas entradas: some tickets (more indefinite; less likely in this context).
Omission (comprar entradas) is also possible in general statements or when indefiniteness is intended: Después de comprar entradas, fuimos al cine.

Could I say Nos fuimos al cine instead of Fuimos al cine?

Yes, but there’s a nuance. Ir = go (destination). Irse emphasizes leaving/departure. Nos fuimos al cine can suggest “we headed off (we left where we were) to the cinema.” In many contexts both are fine; fuimos is the neutral choice.