French prepositions
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The prepositions après and derrière have somewhat similar meanings, which of course means that students sometimes get them confused. Learn the difference between après and derrière to put all of this confusion behind you.
Après
Après means "after" in terms of time or a sequence of events. It can be used with expressions of time, nouns, and stressed pronouns.
Par exemple…
| après 10h | after 10 o’clock | |
| après jeudi | after Thursday | |
| après la réunion | after the meeting | |
| après une réprimande | after a scolding | |
| après toi | after you |
Après can also be used with several verb tenses.
1) past infinitive
| après avoir eu des enfants | after having had kids | |
| après m’être réveillé | after having woken up |
2) que + passé composé
| après que j’ai eu des enfants | after I had kids | |
| après que je me suis réveillé | after I woke up |
3) que + present tense
To talk about something that happens habitually.
| Je mange après que tu pars. | I eat after you leave. | |
| Elle lave la voiture après qu’il pleut. | She washes the car after it rains. |
4) que + future / future perfect
When talking about something that will happen in the future, French requires the future or future perfect, even though the English equivalent is the present tense.
Par exemple…
| après que j’aurai des enfants | after I have kids | |
| après que je me serai réveillé | after I’ve woken up |
Après que does not take the subjunctive.
Antonym: avant
Derrière
Derrière means "behind" and indicates a position or location, whether literal or figurative. It’s used only with nouns and stressed pronouns.
Par exemple…
| derrière le restaurant | behind the restaurant | |
| derrière mon dos | behind my back | |
| derrière un arbre | behind a tree | |
| Il veux s’asseoir derrière nous. | He wants to sit behind us. | |
| Courage, je suis derrière toi ! | Take heart, I’m behind you! |
Antonym: devant
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