This week, we received a question from Rose in Brazil. She asks,I would like to know the difference between after and afterward and how I can use both correctly.Besides that, I would like to know if there is a difference between afterwards and afterward.Thanks in advance. -- Rose, Brazil.Dear Rose, You have asked about two words that seem very similar.But they are in fact used differently."After" has many uses in English: it can be used as an adverb, a conjunction, a preposition or even a noun.First, I will explain how it is used as an adverb.The adverb "after" means following in time or at a later time.Notice that this can be used in the same way you use the word "later."She returned from the trip one year after.It is probably more common to use "after" as a preposition.It means at a time following, as in these sentences:My brother was born five years after my parents' wedding.The bus arrives at five minutes after two o'clock.And after is also used as a conjunction, that is, it joins together two ideas in one sentence.
