Breakdown of Después de comer, descanso un rato.
un
a, an, some
comer
to eat; to have lunch
descansar
to rest
el rato
the while, the short time
después de
after (+ noun / infinitive)
Questions & Answers about Después de comer, descanso un rato.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive comer instead of an -ing word like comiendo?
In Spanish, whenever a verb comes immediately after a preposition like de (as in después de), you must use the infinitive form (the basic dictionary form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). English says "after eating," but Spanish literally says "after to eat."
Could I say después que como instead of después de comer here?
Because the person eating and the person resting are the same, Spanish prefers to use después de followed by the infinitive. You would generally use después de que with a conjugated verb if a different person were doing the second action.
Does un rato mean "a rat"?
No, un rato is a false friend. It means "a while" or "a bit of time." If you actually want to talk about a rat in Spanish, the word is una rata.
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