After vs Afterwards
After and Afterwards are two words used in English language with difference. The word ‘after’ is used in the sense of ‘when something or someone is gone past’ as in the sentences:
1. I shall come after 7 pm.
2. He will get his chance after David gets his chance.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word ‘after’ is used in the sense of ‘when something or someone is gone past’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I shall come when 7 pm is got past’, and the meaning of the second sentence could be ‘he will get his chance when David’s chance is gone past’.
On the other hand, the word ‘afterwards’ is used in the sense of ‘later’ as in the sentences:
1. I shall come afterwards.
2. He apologized afterwards.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word ‘afterwards’ is used in the sense of ‘later’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I shall come later’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘he apologized later’.
It is interesting to note that both the words, namely, after and afterwards are used as adverbs. The word ‘after’ is used in phrases such as ‘look after’, ‘go after’ and the like. On the other hand, the word ‘afterwards’ is used sometimes in the sense of ‘thereafter’ too.
The word ‘after’ is sometimes used in the middle of a sentence as a kind of conjunction too as in the sentence ‘I went at 3 o’clock after which she came too’. In this sentence, you can see that the word ‘after’ is used as a conjunction. These are the important differences between the two words used in the English language, namely, after an after which.