Before, after and while
Which event happens first, and what happens at the same time?
Meaning
Events can be linked by saying which happens first or whether they happen at the same time. This makes the order clear even when the later event is mentioned first. Languages use linking words, verb forms, or context, and some have no separate linking word for a particular time relation. Unlike When and how long, Before, after and while relates one event to another rather than giving a time or duration on its own.
How to spot it
Find two events and check whether the message places one before, after, or during the other, regardless of their order in the sentence.
In your native language
English links events with words such as before, after, and while. The part introduced by the linking word can come before or after the other part of the sentence. When these links refer to the future, English normally uses a present tense after the linking word, not will.
I'll call you before I leave.
Leave refers to the future, but there is no will after before.
After we finished dinner, we washed the dishes.
Dinner happened first; washing the dishes happened later.
Tom listened to music while he cooked.
The two activities happened at the same time.
In your learning language
Spanish commonly uses antes de and después de with an infinitive, a verb form such as salir, when the same person performs both actions. Full time clauses use joining words such as antes de que, después de que, and mientras. Antes de que takes the subjunctive (subjuntivo), which here presents the event as pending at the time being described; después de que and mientras normally use it for future or pending events and ordinary statement forms for actual or habitual events.
Apaga la luz antes de salir.
Turn off the light before you leave.
The listener performs both actions, so antes de can be followed by an infinitive.
Te llamaré después de que llegue el paquete.
I'll call you after the package arrives.
Llegue is subjunctive because the package has not arrived yet.
Mientras tú cocinas, yo pongo la mesa.
While you cook, I'll set the table.
The present forms describe the division of tasks without presenting a future event as pending.
Learners whose language uses future verb forms freely in time clauses may write *después de que llegará instead of después de que llegue for a pending event. Learners whose language does not distinguish infinitives from full time clauses may also omit que before a conjugated verb.