Georgie Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Georgie.
Feifei And I'm Feifei. This week we are answering this question:
Question Hello. Could you please talk about the differences and similarities between the words 'later', 'past', and 'after' – what tenses are they used in and how to use them exactly? Thanks!
Feifei That's a great question! Well, let me tell you Georgie… after I woke up this morning, I saw that it was way past the time I usually leave for work. Later, I realised that I hadn't set my alarm.
Georgie Well, it's lucky you got here in time to answer this question! As you've just demonstrated, we use all these words to talk about time, specifically, a point in time subsequent to another point in time. But they're used in slightly different ways.
Feifei Let's start with 'after'. 'After' is similar to the word 'following' and is commonly used when talking about a sequence of events. “After” 是个介词。我们在对一系列事情进行描述的时候，就可以用 “after” 来描述事情的顺序，表示 “一个接一个” 或者 “在…的之后”。
Georgie Yes. But with this one, you have to specify the event that happens first, like when you said 'after I woke up'. Let's hear some other examples.
Examples After I had breakfast, I got dressed and left the house. （吃完早饭后，我穿好衣服，然后离开了家。）
She will call you after she leaves the birthday party. （她离开生日聚会后会给你打电话。）
Feifei 'Later' as an adverb is similar to 'after', but this time, you don't have to indicate the event that comes first. It's an unspecified period of time subsequent to the current one. 也就是说，“later” 作为副词与 “after” 类似，但在用 “later” 的时候，我们不必指出先发生的事件。因为 “after” 所指的 “之后” 是在当前时间之后的一段未指明的时间。
Georgie That's right. Use it when you don't want or need to give details. When you said that later, you realised you hadn't set your alarm, you didn't specify when you had that realisation. Let's hear some other examples.
Examples She's planning a trip to Africa later in the year. （她计划今年晚些时候去趟非洲。）
I'm busy at the moment, so let's have a meeting later. （我现在有点忙，所以咱们晚点再开会。)
Feifei You can also use 'later' as the comparative form of 'late'. “Later” 是 “late” 的形容词比较级，if you pair it with 'than'.
Georgie Yes, that would mean that something was 'more late' than something else.
Examples Her flight was delayed, so she arrived later than expected. （她的航班延误了，所以她比原计划晚到了。）
The event starts at 7:00, so please don't arrive later than 6:45. （活动7点开始，所以请不要迟于6:45分到达。）
Feifei Now, the word 'past' has many meanings, but the most relevant here is its use as a preposition in the context of time. It has a similar meaning to 'later than'. “Past” 作为介词与 “later than” 类似，指 “晚于某个时间”。
Georgie As a preposition, it has this idea of passing a point in time. This means that a moment has gone beyond, or is later than the expected time. So, remember you said that when you woke up, it was way past the time you usually leave for work. You were behind your usual schedule.
Feifei 'Past' is frequently used with words like 'well' and 'way' to emphasise how far the time has gone. 也就是说，我们可以用 “well past” 或者 “way past” 来强调时间已经过去了许久。Let's hear two examples.
Examples They stayed in the office well past 5 o'clock to complete the project on time. （为了按时完成项目工作，他们在办公室工作的时间远远超过了5点。）
I can't stay awake for the New Year at midnight. It's way past my bedtime. （我可坚持不到元旦凌晨守岁，那早就过了我的睡觉时间。）
Feifei OK, so what about which tenses they can all be used in? All three words are quite flexible. “Later”、“past” 和 “after” 这个三个词的用法都很灵活。They can all be used to describe events in the past, present and future, as long as you're clear on the order of events.
Georgie We've heard examples of 'after' in the past, so let's hear it used to describe a routine and a future plan.
Examples I usually have a big dinner after football practice. （我通常在足球训练结束后大吃一顿。）
We'll speak to Larry after he gets back from work. （我们等拉里下班回来后和他聊聊。）
Feifei 'Later' similarly can be used in many contexts. Let's hear some varied examples.
Examples He chose the chocolate cake but later regretted the decision. （他选了巧克力蛋糕，但后来后悔了。）
It's good to get work experience that will be useful later. （获得对日后有用的工作经验是件好事儿。）
Georgie And finally, let's hear the word 'past' used in some other time frames.
Examples The performance continued past midnight, delighting the audience. （演出一直持续到午夜后，让观众感到十分高兴。）
If you submit the project on Tuesday, it'll be well past the deadline. （你要是周二才提交项目，就远远超过最后期限了。）
Feifei To summarise, 'after', 'later' and 'past' are all used to say that something happens subsequent to another thing. 这三个词都用来表示 “某事发生在另一件事情之后”。
Georgie 'After' must be used in conjunction with whatever happens first, whereas 'later' can be used without specifying what happens first – it's more vague.
Feifei And 'past' means that a moment has gone beyond a certain time.
Georgie Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk
