Grammar › Time › 〜まえに／てから
〜まえに / 〜てから
Putting events in order. まえに is "before", てから is "after" — and each one locks the verb in front of it into a fixed shape.
The short version
〜まえに = "before (doing) X" — the verb before it is always the dictionary form. 〜てから = "after (doing) X" — built on the て-form, and stressing that one thing finishes before the next starts.
寝るまえに — before sleeping
食べてから — after eating
まえに — before doing something
Dictionary form + まえに marks what happens first in time, even when the whole sentence is in the past. The verb never changes tense.
結婚する前に。
Before getting married. (dictionary form 結婚する + 前に)
まあ、寝る前にね。
Well, before going to sleep. (寝る stays dictionary form)
Always the dictionary form before 前に. Even in a past-tense sentence it's 食べる前に ("before eating"), never 食べた前に. The 前に is what places it in the past.
てから — after doing something
て-form + から says "once X is done, then…". It's more emphatic about sequence than a plain て on its own — X really has to finish first.
大人になってから。
After becoming an adult. (なって + から)
これね、運動を始めてから、
This — after starting to exercise… (始めて + から)
触ってから決めましょう。
Let's decide after touching (feeling) it. (do X first, then Y)
At a glance
| Verb shape | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| まえに | dictionary form → 食べる前に | before doing X |
| てから | て-form → 食べてから | after doing X |
Next: とき — when → · The て-form → · All grammar
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