Could the same sentence be used to refer to the past?
For example: Anoche fuimos a una fiesta. Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
Thanks
To express in Spanish before or after [something/doing something] we use the prepositional phrases: antes de and después de.
Antes de + noun
Después de + noun
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 de + infinitive
Después de + infinitive
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)
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Después de cocinar quiero ver la televisión.
After cooking I want to watch TV.
Fui a su casa antes de ir al gimnasio.
I went to her house before going to the gym.
Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
After the party we will call a taxi.
Voy a ducharme antes de la cena.
I am going to have a shower before dinner.
Antes del partido bebimos demasiadas cervezas.
Before the match we drank too many beers.
Q&A Forum 2 questions, 3 answers
Hola Steve,
Yes, in that case it is referring to a past action. There is enough context to know that, as it is saying that the party happened last night with the previous sentence.
In our sentence in this lesson, which is:
Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
After the party we will call a taxi.
because "llamamos" could be either the present tense (with a future meaning in this case) or the preterite, as they coincide in their form, it could be referring to a past action or a future action. In the lesson we are taking it as a future action.
Saludos
Inma
Steve asked:View original
Past tense also?
Could the same sentence be used to refer to the past?
For example: Anoche fuimos a una fiesta. Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
Thanks
Don't have an account yet? Join today
NicoleKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Present tense used
Hi,
I was wondering why the "present" tense is used in Spanish for "llamar" which is then translated in the future tense. Why not llamaremos?
Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
After the party we will call a taxi.
Thank you.
Asked 1 month ago
Hola Nicole
This is because we sometimes use the present tense to refer to a future action.
Here is a lesson that explains this. Have a look.
Inma
Nicole asked:View original
Present tense used
Hi,
I was wondering why the "present" tense is used in Spanish for "llamar" which is then translated in the future tense. Why not llamaremos?
Después de la fiesta llamamos a un taxi.
After the party we will call a taxi.
Thank you.
Don't have an account yet? Join today
