ChineseGrammarWiki/ancien/Chinese-Grammar-Wiki/MD/B1.old/Grammar-wiki-B1-145.txt

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If you are trying to explain what you did after a certain event, you might want to use "以后" (yǐhòu) or "之后" (zhīhòu). After all, they do both mean "after," right? Well, it turns out that there are a few rules that you need to be aware of before you use them. 

== Similarity ==

Both indicates another event happened after a special time. these two words share a structure, so it is easy to see how they would be easily confused. Here's the structure:

=== Structure ===

<div class="jiegou">

Subj. + Special Time + 以后／之后 + Action

</div>

In situations where you have already done something and then after that you did something else, you can use "以后." The stipulation with this is that the time has to be explicitly said. That is, there has to be a time for "以后" to modify. Otherwise the sentence won't make sense. 

=== Examples ===

<div class="liju">
* 下 过 雨 <em>以后</em>/ <em>之后</em> 空气 会 好 很 多 。<span class="pinyin">Xià guo yǔ <em>yǐhòu</em> /<em> zhīhòu</em> kōngqì huì hǎo hěn duō.</span><span class="trans">After it rains, the air will be a lot better.</span>
* 结婚 <em>以后</em>/ <em>之后</em>他们 有 了 两 个 宝宝 。 <span class="pinyin">Jiéhūn <em>yǐhòu</em> /<em> zhīhòu</em> tāmen yǒu le liǎng gè bǎobǎo.</span><span class="trans">After getting married, they had two babies.</span>
* 等 我 涨 工资 <em>以后</em>/ <em>之后</em>请 你 吃饭 。 <span class="pinyin">Děng wǒ zhǎng gōngzī <em> yǐhòu</em> /<em> zhīhòu</em> qǐng nǐ chīfàn.</span><span class="trans">After I get a raise, I will treat you to a meal.</span>
* 听到 这 个 消息 <em>以后</em>/ <em>之后</em> ，我 高兴 得 一 晚 上 没 睡 。 <span class="pinyin">Tīngdào zhè gè xiāoxi <em> yǐhòu</em> /<em> zhīhòu</em>, wǒ gāoxìng de yī wǎn shàng méi shuì.</span><span class="trans">After I heard this news, I was so happy I couldn't sleep the whole night.</span>
</div>

== Differences ==

Now you might be thinking, "But [[After a specific time|'以后' means afterwards]], why doesn't that work?" In this case, "以后" is just used to talk about [[In the future in general|the future in general]]. The meaning that you're probably thinking of comes from the first structure above.

=== 以后 ===

==== Structure ==== 

<div class="jiegou">

以后，Comment

</div>

====  Examples ==== 

<div class="liju">
* <em>以后</em> 再 也 不 来 这里 吃饭 了 ， 又 贵 又 难吃 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐhòu</em> zài yě bù lái zhèlǐ chīfàn le, yòu guì yòu nánchī.</span><span class="trans">In the future I will never come to this place to eat again. It's expensive and the food is not good.</span>
* <em>以后</em> 我 可能 会 去 国外 上 大学 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐhòu</em> wǒ kěnéng huì qù guówài shàng dàxué.</span><span class="trans">In the future I might go to college abroad.</span>
* <em>以后</em> 的 事情 <em>以后</em> 再 说 吧 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Yǐhòu</em> de shìqing <em>yǐhòu</em> zài shuō bā.</span><span class="trans">We'll talk about future things some time later.</span>
</div>

=== 之后 ===

Compared to "以后," "之后" is a little more free. Not only can it happen in the same place, [[Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"|modifying the time]], but it can also appear just on its own, meaning something along the lines of "then." While "以后" is dependent on the time, "之后" can stand by itself.

==== Structure ==== 

There is another structure that only works with "之后":
<div class="jiegou">

Subj. + Event， 之后 + Action

</div>

==== Examples ====

<div class="liju">
*我 要 先 回家 把 东西 放 下 ， <em>之后</em> 去 咖啡店 找 你 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ yào xiān huí jiā bǎ dōngxi fàng xià, <em>zhīhòu</em> qù kāfēidiàn zhǎo nǐ.</span><span class="trans">I'm going to go home and drop my stuff off first, then go to the cafe to look for you.</span>
*去年 夏天 他 来 过 我 家 ， <em>之后</em> 再 也 没 见 到 他 。 <span class="pinyin">Qùnián xiàtiān tā lái guò wǒ jiā, <em>zhīhòu</em> zài yě méi jiàn dào tā.</span><span class="trans">Last summer, he came to my house. After that, I haven't seen him.</span>
*房子 涨价 <em>之后</em> ， 越 来 越 多 的 人 开始 买 房 。 <span class="pinyin">Fángzi zhǎngjià <em>zhīhòu</em>, Yuè lái Yuè duō de rén kāishǐ mǎi Fáng.</span><span class="trans">After prices went up, more and more people started buying houses.</span>
</div>

== Right or Wrong ==

==== Examples ====

<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li class="x">我 六 点 下班，<em>以后</em>，我 去 跟 朋友 吃饭。<span class="expl">Since there is nothing that "以后" modifies, this sentence doesn't work.</span></li>
<li class="o">我 六 点 下班，<em>之后</em>，我 去 跟 朋友 吃饭。<span class="expl">"之后" works in this sentence.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ liù diǎn xiàbān,  <em>zhīhòu</em>, wǒ qù gēn péngyou chīfàn.</span><span class="trans">I will get off work at six o'clock, and after that I will meet with a friend to eat dinner.</span></li>
<li class="o">昨天 <strong>我 跟 朋友 吃 完 饭</strong><em>以后</em>去 了 酒吧。<span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǒ gēn péngyou chī wán fàn <em>yǐhòu</em> qù le jiǔbā.</span><span class="trans">Yesterday, when my friends and I were done eating, we went to the bar.</span></li>
<li class="x">昨天 我 跟 朋友 去 吃饭 了，<em>以后</em>，我们 去 酒吧。<span class="expl">Again, since there is nothing for "以后" to modify, it's a bad sentence.</span></li>
<li class="o">昨天 我 跟 朋友 去 吃饭 了，<em>之后</em>，我们 去 了 酒吧。<span class="pinyin">Zuótiān wǒ gēn péngyou qù chīfàn le, <em>zhīhòu</em>, wǒmen qù le jiǔbā.</span><span class="expl">"之后" works in this sentence.</span><span class="trans">Yesterday I ate dinner with a friend, and afterward we went to a bar.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

==See Also==
*[[After a specific time]]
*[[In the future in general]]
*[[Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"]]
*[[Comparing "yihou" and "houlai"]]

==Sources and Further Reading==
'''NEEDS SOURCES'''

[[Category:grammar comparison]]
{{Basic Grammar|以后|B1|以后 vs 之后|我 昨天 跟 朋友 吃饭. 吃完 <em>以后</em> 去 超市. 之后 我们 回家 了 |grammar point|ASGC3SCN}}
{{Rel char|之后}}
{{Similar|In the future in general}}
{{Similar|Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"}}
{{Similar|After a specific time}}
{{Used for|Expressing time and date}}
{{Used for|Sequencing events in time}}
{{Used for|Referring to the past}}
{{Translation|later}}
{{Translation|after}}
{{Comparison|Time Words}}