Before and After
In the last lesson you learned antes (before) and después (after) as stand-alone time words. To say before or after something — a noun or an action — Spanish links them with de:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| antes de + noun / infinitive | before ... |
| después de + noun / infinitive | after ... |
Before and After a Noun
| I study a lot before the exam. | Estudio mucho antes del examen. |
| After class, we go to the café. | Después de la clase, vamos al café. |
Remember the contraction rule you already know: de + el becomes del, so it is antes del examen, never antes de el examen.
Before and After Doing Something — Use the Infinitive
When what follows is an action, Spanish always uses the infinitive — where English says "before eating", Spanish says antes de comer, literally "before to-eat". Never conjugate the verb after antes de or después de: antes de duermo is the classic English-speaker mistake.
| I brush my teeth before sleeping. | Me lavo los dientes antes de dormir. |
| She washes her hands before eating. | Ella se lava las manos antes de comer. |
| After having dinner, we walk through the park. | Después de cenar, caminamos por el parque. |
This works because both actions share one subject: ella washes and ella eats. (When the two actions have different subjects, Spanish switches to antes de que — that construction comes at a later level.)
Where the Phrase Goes
The time phrase can open the sentence — followed by a comma — or close it. Both orders are natural:
| Before going out, she visits her grandmother. | Antes de salir, ella visita a su abuela. |
| What do you do after working? | ¿Qué haces después de trabajar? |
| After work, I have a coffee with my mother. | Después del trabajo, tomo un café con mi madre. |
