after
after
af∙ter¹ / ˈæftə ; ˈɑ:ftə /
◙prep, conjunction, adv
1. when a particular event or time has happened, or when someone has done something
• 在…后;
【OPP】 before
»After the war many soldiers stayed in France.
战后，许多士兵留在法国。
»I go swimming every day after work.
我每天下班后都去游泳。
»Do you believe in life after death?
你相信人死后还有生命吗？
»The first attack started just after midnight.
刚过午夜，第一波进攻开始了。
»David went to bedstraight after(=immediately after) supper.
大卫一吃完晚饭就去睡觉了。
»After you'd called the police, what did you do?
报警之后，你做了些什么？
»Zimmerman changed his name after he left Germany.
齐默尔曼离开德国后改了名字。
»People still remember the 1958 revolution and whatcame after(=happened after it) .
人们依然记得 1958 年的革命以及之后发生的事。
»after doing sth
»After leaving school, Mackay worked in a restaurant for a year.
中学毕业后，麦凯在一家餐馆工作了一年。
»2 days / 3 weeks etc after (sth)
»Ten years after he bought the painting, Carswell discovered that it was a fake.
卡斯韦尔买下那幅画 10 年后发现它是赝品。
»the day / week / year etc after (sth) (=the next day, week etc)（某事）发生后接下来的一天/一周/一年等
»His car was outside your house the morning after Bob's engagement party.
鲍勃订婚宴会的第二天早上，他的车停在你家门外。
»I'll see you again tomorrow or the day after.
明天或后天我会再来看你。
»She retired from politics the year after she received the Nobel Prize.
她获得诺贝尔奖的第二年退出了政坛。
»soon / not long / shortly after (sth)
»Not long after the wedding, his wife became ill.
婚后不久，他的妻子就病了。
»The family moved to Hardingham in June 1983, and Sarah's first child was born soon after.
1983 年 6 月，全家人移居哈丁汉，不久莎拉的第一个孩子出生了。
2. when a particular amount of time has passed
• 〔一段时间〕以后;
【OPP】 before
»After 10 minutes remove the cake from the oven.
10 分钟以后，把蛋糕从烤炉中取出。
»You'll get used to it after a while.
过一会儿你就会习惯的。
»After months of negotiation, an agreement was finally reached.
经过数月谈判，终于达成了一项协议。
3. following someone or something else in a list or a piece of writing, or in order of importance
• 〔在清单或一段文字中，或指重要性的顺序〕在…之后:
»Whose name is after yours on the list?
名单上谁的名字排在你的后面？
»The date should be written after the address.
日期应写在地址之后。
»After football, tennis is my favourite sport.
除了足球，网球是我最喜爱的体育活动。
»The UK is the world's third largest arms producer, after the USA and Russia.
英国是世界第三大武器生产国，位列美国和俄罗斯之后。
4. [AmE] used when telling the time to say how many minutes have passed since a particular hour
• 〔整点〕过几分;
【SYN】 past [BrE] :
»The movie starts at a quarter (=fifteen minutes) after seven.
电影七点一刻开始放映。
5. day after day / year after year etc, continuously for a very long time
• 日复一日/年复一年等:
»He's worked in that same office week after week, year after year, since he was 18.
18 岁开始，他就一直在同一个办公室工作，一周复一周，一年复一年。
•
6.
a. following someone in order to stop or speak to them
• 追赶〔某人〕:
»Go after him and apologize.
追上去向他道歉。
»I heard someone running after me, and a voice called my name.
我听见有人追上来，一个声音在叫我的名字。
b. in the direction of someone who has just left
• 朝向〔刚离开的人〕:
»'Good luck,' she called after me as I left.
“祝你好运。”我走的时候她朝我喊道。
»Harry stood in the doorway gazing after her.
哈里站在门口注视着她的背影。
7. when someone has left a place or has finished doing something
• 在〔某人离开某地或做完某事〕之后:
»Remember to close the door after you.
请记住随手关门。
»I spend all day cleaning up after the kids.
我整天跟在孩子们后面收拾。
8. because of something that happened earlier
• 由于; 既然:
»I'm not surprised he walked out, after the way she treated him.
她那样对待他，所以我对他的出走并不感到惊讶。
»After your letter, I didn't think I'd ever see you again.
由于你的这封信，我想我再也不会见你了。
9. in spite of something that was done in the past
• 尽管，虽然:
»How can you treat me like this after all I've done for you?
我为你做了那么多，你怎么还这样对我？
10. when you have passed a particular place or travelled a certain distance along a road
• 过〔某地或某段路〕以后:
»Turn left after the hotel.
过了那家酒店往左转。
»After a mile you will come to a crossroads.
一英里之后你会遇到一个十字路口。
11. be after sb / sth
a. to be looking for someone or something
• 寻找某人/某物:
»That boy's always in trouble – the police are after him again.
那个男孩子老是惹麻烦 — 警察又在找他了。
»'Were you after anything in particular?' 'No, we're just looking.'
“有什么特别想要的吗？”“不，我们只是随便看看。”
b. [informal] to want to have something that belongs to someone else
• 想占有〔他人之物〕:
»I think Chris is after my job.
我想克里斯在抢我的饭碗。
12. one after another / one after the other, if a series of events or actions happen one after another, each one happens soon after the previous one
• 一个接一个:
»Ever since we moved here it's been one problem after another.
自从我们搬到这里之后，问题一个接着一个。
13. after all
a. in spite of what you thought was true or expected to happen
• 终究，还是:
»He wrote to say they couldn't give me a job after all.
他写信说他们还是不能给我一份工作。
»Union leaders announced that they would, after all, take part in the national conference.
工会领导人宣布，他们还是要参加全国会议。
b. used to say that something should be remembered or considered, because it helps to explain what you have just said
• 毕竟:
»Prisoners should be treated with respect – they are human beings after all.
应该尊重囚犯 — 毕竟他们也是人。
»I don't know why you're so concerned – it isn't your problem after all.
我不明白你为什么这样担心，这毕竟不是你的问题。
14. [especially BrE] used to say who or what first had the name that someone or something has been given
• 以…命名:
»His name is Alessandro, after his grandfather.
他叫亚历山德罗，取的是他祖父的名字。
»It was named Waterloo Bridge, after the famous battle.
它叫滑铁卢桥，以那场著名的战役命名。
15. [formal] in the same style as a particular painter, musician etc
• 具有…的风格，模仿…:
»a painting after Rembrandt
仿伦勃朗的画
•
16.
a. after you, [spoken] used to say politely that someone else can use or do something before you do
• 你先请:
»'Do you need the copier?' 'After you.'
“你要用复印机吗？”“你先用吧。”
b. after you with sth, used to ask someone if you can have or use something after they have finished
• 你用完某物之后给我:
»After you with that knife, please.
你用完刀子后请给我好吗？
--› see a man / woman after my own heart at heart (22) ;
--› see take after at TAKE ¹
【CHOICE】
after, in, afterwards:• after is usually used as a preposition (followed by a noun).
• after 一般用作介词（后接名词）:
»I'll do it after lunch.
我吃完午饭再做。
»Please call after 9.30.
请九点半以后打电话来。
• after followed by a time period is more often used to talk about past events.
• after 后接一段时间更多的是用于谈论过去:
»After a few minutes he stopped.
几分钟后，他停了下来。
• in followed by a time period is more often used to talk about future events.
• in 后接一段时间更多的是用于谈论将来:
»He'll be here in a few minutes.
几分钟后他会来这里。
• after can be used as an adverb, but only following another time adverb such as soon, not long, or shortly.
• after 可以用作副词，但只能接在 soon, not long, shortly等时间副词之后:
»Tim came in at midnight, and Lucy not long after.
蒂姆半夜里到达，不久露茜也到了。
• afterwards can be used instead, and can also be used as an adverb on its own.
• 也可用 afterwards 替代，这个词还可单独用作副词:
»His parents came shortly afterwards.
不多时，他的父母来了。
»You can meet the actors afterwards (NOT after).
稍后你们可以面见演员。
after²
◙adj [only before noun]
1. in after years, [literary] in the years after the time that has been mentioned
• 在后来的岁月里
2. [technical] in the back part of a boat or an aircraft
• 〔船、飞机〕后部的
