Note that this is a Europe focused lesson. Your active focus is Latin America.
Learn how to express before/after something in Spanish
To express in Spanish before or after [something/doing something] we use the prepositional phrases: antes de and después de.
Antes de + noun
Voy a ducharme antes de la cena.I am going to have a shower before dinner.
Después de + noun
Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.After the party we will call a taxi.
Notice in the examples above how after the preposition de the noun is preceded by its article
antes de la cena
después de la fiesta
Contraction del
Remember that if the noun is masculine you will find the contraction del:
Antes del partido bebimos demasiadas cervezas.Before the match we drank too many beers.
Antes de + infinitive
Fui a su casa antes de ir al gimnasio.I went to her house before going to the gym.
Después de + infinitive
Después de cocinar quiero ver la televisión.After cooking I want to watch TV.
Notice that in Spanish the verb after the preposition de comes in the infinitive form (-ar/-er/ir form) whilst in English it is a gerund (-ing form)
See also Using antes de que/después de que with indicative or subjunctive in Spanish (subordinate time clauses) (Spain) and Antes de/Después de followed by haber + participle in Spanish
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