Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › After, Before, When
After, Before, When(temporal prepositions / conjunctions / adjuncts)
Relate the timing of two activities
In Context
On Saturday nights, my friend and I get together to watch a movie after he finishes work. He calls as he leaves work. I pick out some snacks before he arrives. We select a movie when he gets here. I make popcorn while he moves the sofa in front of the TV. We start the movie as soon as we finish getting ready.
We watch the whole movie as long as it is interesting. When the movie ends, we head out for a late night snack. We look for our friends once we get to our favorite spot. We all talk. We don't get home until it is late. We feel tired as the sun comes up. We have had fun by the time the days ends.
Time-Related Activities — present and future
| PRESENT | |
|---|---|
A time-related activity can be added to a main clause with a connective preposition such as before, after, when, or while. When the verb in the main clause is present tense, the verb in the the clause following the preposition reflects the same time frame—present tense. In the main clause, present tense expresses routine activity, and present progressive expresses an activity or plan already in thought or motion. |
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| MAIN CLAUSE | CONNECTIVE PREP + CLAUSE |
| PRESENT / PRES PROG. | PRESENT VERB |
We get together on Saturdays We are getting together¹ |
after he finishes work. (later than) after he finishes work. |
He calls me |
as he leaves work. (at same time or immediately before) |
I pick up some snacks I am picking up some snacks |
before he arrives. (ealier than) before he arrives. |
I select a movie |
when he gets here. (at the moment or soon after) |
I make popcorn |
while he moves the sofa in front of the TV. (ongoing- same time activities) |
We start the movie |
as soon as we finish getting ready. (when–immediately following) |
We watch the whole movie |
as long as it is interesting. (while–for all the time) |
We head out for a late night snack |
when the movie ends. (immediately following) |
We look for our friends |
once we get to our favorite spot². (immediately following) |
We don't get home |
until it is late. (immediately following) |
We feel tired |
as the sun comes up. (in the last moments) |
We have fun (routinely) |
by the time the day ends. (in the time before) |
We have a good time |
whenever we get together. (always) |
We have a good time |
anytime we get together. |
| FUTURE [MODAL VERB] | |
|---|---|
A time-related activity can also be added to a main clause expressing what we think, guess, know or predict will happen at a present or future time. When the main clause includes a modal such as will, can, may, shall, the verb in the clause following the preposition remains in present tense. In the main clause, will expresses intent to do or prediction about a future activity. Be going expresses an activity or plan soon to be put in motion. |
|
| MAIN CLAUSE | CONNECTIVE PREP + CLAUSE |
| MODAL VERB WILL / BE GOING | PRESENT VERB |
We will watch a movie We are going to watch a movie |
after he finishes work. *will finish (later than) |
He will call me |
as he leaves work. |
I will pick up some snacks (intention) |
before he arrives. |
I am going to select a movie |
when he gets here. |
We will be making popcorn |
while he is moving the sofa in front of the TV. (ongoing- same time activities) |
We can/ will start the movie |
as soon as we finish getting ready. |
We will watch the movie |
as long as it is interesting. |
We will head out for a late night snack |
when the movie ends. |
We will look for our friends |
once we get to our favorite spot. |
We won't get home |
until it is late. |
We will feel tired |
as the sun comes up. |
We will have had³ a good time (future prediction) |
by the time the day ends. (See future perfect.) |
We will have a good time |
whenever we get together. |
We will have a good time |
anytime we get together. |
*not used / ~questionable usage
¹present vs. present progressive – "We get together" expresses habit or cusom. "We are getting together" expresses a plan that is about to happen.
² favorite spot (expression) – a preferred restaurant, café, bar, plaza or other place where people can meet up.
³ this is future perfect. See By the time and Will / Will have.
head out (V) – set out or go in a particular direction for somewhere
before, after, when, while are called connective prepositions, or adverbial prepositions, or temporal adjuncts. See Grammar Notes for other terms.
conjunction— is a term reserved for the addition (and) of two elements. See Conjunction, exclusion, disjunction.
Also see When vs. While, After / Before –ing | Time-Relative Events (present tense) | Will vs. Be going to.
Punctuation
Placing after and before at the beginning of a clause
Clause Position
| INITIAL POSITION / FRONTED PHRASE |
|---|
|
| FRONTED PHRASE— COMMA |
As soon as you get here, we'll leave. |
Before I drink coffee, my head hurts. |
After I drink coffee, my headache stops. |
When you give me the keys, I'll start driving. |
A connective prepositional phrase can be moved in front of the main clause for emphasis. A comma is placed after it.| FINAL POSITION |
|---|
|
| PHRASE IN NORMAL POSITION — NO COMMA |
We'll leave as soon as you get here. |
My head hurts before I drink coffee. |
My headache stops after I drink coffee. |
I'll start driving when you give me the keys. |
Adjunct – add on structure; the connective preposition adds a clause that is not required by the main clause to make sense.
Prepositional Phrase = [Preposition + Clause] See Prep Complements.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
*I'll make some popcorn. After we'll eat it |
*I'll call you before I will get there. |
*I'll lock the door before I leave. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
I'll make some popcorn. Afterward, we'll eat it. I'll make some popcorn. After that, we'll eat it. After I make popcorn, we'll eat it. |
I'll call you before I get there. Use present tense in the adverb clause. |
I'll lock the door after I leave. (After is followed by a clauses with the second activity.) |
Also see Time-Relative Events (present tense), If vs. When, When vs. While and Awhile v. A while (N - Adv [P])
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions
Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR |
|---|
In traditional grammar, while, when, before, after, and since are conjunctions which join an adverb clause to an independent clause. The term adverbial clause is used because the clause adds time-related information about the verb and answers the question When? This added-on structure is called a dependent clause because it can not stand alone as a sentence. |
Azar & Hagen call these structures adverbial clauses or "time clauses" with no mention of a term for the connector. It is not clear whether while, when, before, after, and since are adverbs or conjunctions. "A time clause begins with such words as when, before after, as soon as, until, and while and includes a subjects and a verb. The time clause can come either at the beginning of the sentence or in the second part of the sentence…" (Azar 4-3, Adverb clauses 17-2; Reduction 18-1) after, because, though, if |
| PARSED / LINEAR DIAGRAM |
|
| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTIONS |
|---|
In current linguistic analysis – while, when, before, after, and since — are prepositions which take a clause as their complement: a finite clause (while we were walking home) or a nonfinite gerund-participle clause (while walking home). Before and after additionally take a noun complement (before me). The structure is called an adjunct because it is not required to complete the meaning of the sentence. (The clause can be considered complete without the prepositional phrase.) |
Huddleston & Pullum (2009) use the term "temporal location expressions". In their grammar description, they reassign a large number of items previously analyzed as adverbs after, as, as soon as, before, once, since while, and when to the category of Prepositions. The preposition is the head of the prepositional phrase (PP) which can be complemented by a noun phrase or a clause (with a subject and a verb, or a clause with a gerund-participle). (7.2.4, 8.63) |
Swan (2009) refers to while, when, before, after, and since as conjunctions. (29.1, 30.1, 73, 97, 411.6, 510) after, before, since, when, while |
| TREE DIAGRAM |
 |
Word Categories: N – Noun; V – Verb; Aux – Auxiliary; Adj – Adjective; Adv – Adverb; P –Preposition; Det –Determiner.
Phrasal Categories: NP – Noun Phrase; VP – Verb Phrase; AdjP – Adjective Phrase; AdvP – Adverb Phrase; PP – Prepositional Phrase; DP – Determinative Phrase.
Clausal Categories: Cls – clause; F – finite clause; NF – nonfinite clause (Ger – gerund; Inf – infinitive; PPart – past participle).
Word Functions: Subj – subject; Pred – predicate/predicator; Comp – complement: elements required by an expression to complete its meaning (DO – direct object; IO – indirect object); Adjunct – adjunct: elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning (Subord – subordinator; Coord – coordinator); Supl – supplement: a clause or phrase added onto a clause that is not closely related to the central thought or structure of the main clause.
Works Cited
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English. Pearson Education, 1999.
- Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice 1
Waiting for an Acceptance Letter
Correct or incorrect? (future tense)
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Practice 2
Four Years Overseas
Complete the sentence. (past, present, and future tense)
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Practice 3
A Changed Opinion
Read for Errors
Before Elena traveled to New York, she was hearing a lot of awful things about New York city. However, she was pleasantly surprised once she had arrived. She saw a delightful mixture of people when she had walked around the area where her school was located. As long as she didn't went out alone at night, she felt safe. It was not much different from her own city of Athens. Friends told her greatly exaggerated stories before she had left Athens.
She had been fearful until she had seen it for herself. Elena enjoyed going to the neighborhood's cafés and book stores while she got her bachelor's degree. She sipped coffee as she studied. When ever she and her friends went out at night, they all walked home together. She held a completely different opinion of New York City by the time she has finished her studies.
awful (Adj) — unpleasant, bad
bachelor's degree (N) — a certificate of completion for four years of college of university study
exaggerate (V) — describe as better, worse or larger than something really is
fearful (Adj) — afraid; a preoccupation of danger
mixture (N) — combination; a mix of different things
neighborhood (N) — the area or region around or near some place or thing; vicinity
opinion (N) — personal view, attitude, judgment
pleasantly (adv.) — pleasing, agreeable, enjoyable
Edit for Errors
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