"⋯⋯, 后来⋯⋯" (..., hòulái...) is used to sequence past events in the same way that "Afterward..." is in English. Something very important to note is that 后来 can only be used with two events that have already occurred.

他说他会来，后来又说不来了。 Tā shuō tā huì lái, hòulái yòu shuō bù lái le. He said he would come, but later he said that he's not coming.
他们上周吵架了，后来和好了。 Tāmen shàng zhōu chǎojià le, hòulái hé hǎo le. They had a fight last week, and they made up afterwards.
他以前是厨师，后来当了老板。 Tā yǐqián shì chúshī, hòulái dāng le lǎobǎn. He used to be a chef. Afterwards, he became the owner.
我昨晚走得早，不知道后来发生了什么。 Wǒ zuówǎn zǒu de zǎo, bù zhīdào hòulái fāshēng le shénme. I left early yesterday evening, so I don't know what happened afterwards.
开始我父母不同意，后来他们同意了。 Kāishǐ wǒ fùmǔ bù tóngyì, hòulái tāmen tóngyì le. My parents disapproved in the beginning, but they approved later.
空调我上个月修好了，后来又坏了。 Kōngtiáo wǒ shàng gè yuè xiū hǎo le, hòulái yòu huài le. I fixed the air conditioner last week, but it broke again after that.
他们在一起差不多三年，后来分手了。 Tāmen zài yīqǐ chàbuduō sān nián, hòulái fēnshǒu le. They had been together for about three years. But they broke up afterwards.
她以前是兼职老师，后来做了全职。 Tā yǐqián shì jiānzhí lǎoshī, hòulái zuò le quánzhí. She used to be a part time teacher. Afterwards, she became full time.
我的大学老师辞职了，后来去上海做生意了。 Wǒ de dàxué lǎoshī cízhí le, hòulái qù Shànghǎi zuò shēngyi le. My college teacher quit his job. Afterwards, he went to Shanghai to do business.
北京以前叫北平，后来改成了北京。 Běijīng yǐqián jiào Běipíng, hòulái gǎi chéng le Běijīng. Beijing used to be called Beiping and got changed into Beijing afterwards.

Sequencing past events with "houlai"

Contents

Structure

Examples

See also

Sources and further reading

Books